While I would rather presume the innocence of those named, since in this case the media seems to be primarily reporting factual events (i.e. riders being suspended by their teams), I am going to assume that those who have had a chance to judge the evidence first hand have good reason to believe the allegations are true. Never mind that these same team owners would know what is going on anyway. The suspensions indicate to me that when the facts do come out in court, the scope of the problem will be far reaching; rather than the usual post-bust damage control, the teams are scurrying now to save their very existence in the future.
As such, there are two things that I find striking about the latest doping "scandal." For starters, this appears to be confirmation that the use of illegal drugs in pro cycling remains widespread, despite what the UCI et al will have you believe is a rigorous testing program. Considering that all of the riders named have submitted numerous negative tests over the past few years, one can only conclude that the testing program is a joke. Either everyone involved gets paid off to conceal the truth about the mega-stars, or the testing methods are just plain ineffective. The significance of this is that the main argument used by those who contend that the sport is clean centers around the ratio of the large number of tests to the small number of positive results. Riders who have been the subject of doping rumors always point out the number of times they have tested clean. USA Cycling uses this same kind of information to portray US cycling as nearly drug-free. Well, if these recents allegations mean anything, then the testing programs, and any rider's negative tests, mean absolutely nothing. Implementing a corrupt testing program is far worse than having no program at all, as now even the innocent have lost all means of proving they are so. This represents a crime far worse than the doping itself, which only steals a victory from the first clean rider. Corruption of the testing system has taken away the credibility of the innocent.
Reinforcing this opinon, the way this all came to light stands out like a beacon in the night. I've said before that doping would only be curtailed when those involved start getting arrested. No one should be surprised that these revelations did NOT come from anyone inside the sport. Somehow, the UCI, WADA, the ASO, and all the teams involved failed to know that any of these riders were doping, until a judicial authority, completely outside the sport, investigated and made the charges against the doctors involved. Are we to believe that NOBODY knew what was going on? Of course not. But NOBODY (except, I guess, Jesus Manzano) came forward to expose it. Manzano, and everyone else who ever "ratted" was ostracized and made out to be a crackpot by everyone in the sport.
Is anyone clean? Of course, there has to be someone honest. Are there clean riders who knew what was going on, but chose to remain silent, making their living in peace, rather than trying to fight the system? Yes, I'll bet there are. Today they are paying the price for being involved in a sport where drug use appears to be institutional. The denials of the problem must end. Even the clean will forever be under a veil of suspicion. It is wrong. This is NOT, however, a dark day for cycling. The rottenness of those involved had to be exposed, and hopefully now it will continue, eradicating the dope issue.
I don't support the denial of due process, nor the presumption of guilt. If there were not so many teams and people at the top of the sport being named, I would not even comment on this until all the evidence had been considered by a reputable panel and judgement passed. As it stands though, it seems safe to assume the problem is as big as anyone (me at least) ever imagined. Bear in mind that the riders suspended today (Ullrich, at least) reportedly were being disciplined for lying to their employers, something we all might get a similar fate for. Maybe it will come out that this entire deal was an elaborate fabrication designed to discredit the sport. At this point though, I kinda doubt it.
since 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
8 mile
TT night. I got to meet Michigan Man Gewilli too. Under threatening skies, a surprisingly good crowd of around twenty riders lined up to race against the clock. Unlike the big dance earlier in the day up in Fitchburg, we scrubs did not get wet. The wind blew fairly strong from the south, but at worst is was a straight crosswind at some points, and probably a helpful 3/4 tailwind at others.
This week my warmup was more complete, with at least 10 minutes of easy spinning, followed by 5 minutes sub-LT, more spinning, and then a 2 minute super-LT effort. I also had time to do some high cadence, some low rpm lugging, and even a bit of one-legged pedaling. I was seeded about six riders from last, two spots behind Gewilli. Starting a bit easier than last week, I settled in nicely and felt good. Briefly I got stuck behind a car, even tapping the brakes, as the elderly driver was hesitant to pass three recreational riders who were carelessly road hogging the course. A bit later, the rumble of my disc wheel startled two ducks at the side of the road, and for a minute I thought they were going to fly into me. So not even five minutes into this thing, I'd already had two incidents. Thankfully, that was the last of it.
Where the course opens up with a wide shoulder, the wind started feeling like a hindrance, and I wasn't able to hold my 45 kph pace. Through this section, I was at 42-44 kph most of the time, holding my HR right around 166, which is a few beats over LT. Just past halfway, the course's only small rises slowed me even further, and I sank to 36 kph at one point. For the second rise, I took it out of the 13 cog (which I had been in from the start) and used the 14 for about 500 meters. The last section of the course gets bumpy from crack sealer (huh-huh), but as my Polar later revealed, runs very slightly downhill. Expecting the finish to come up much sooner than it did, I got the speed up to 51 kph at one point, and mostly stayed around 48 kph, flying by GeWilli and another rider, almost catching a third.
"The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!"
There was the finish and the "8.0 mile" painted on the road, 16:59 from the start. That's 44.6 kph average (27+ mph). I'm not sure, but that might be my fastest TT ever. Later analysis of the Polar data revealed an average HR of 168, which is perfect. I may have even moved my LT up a few clicks this season. The graph also revealed that the finish sits at roughly 30 meters less elevation than the start. While imperceptible on the bike, this -0.2% grade provides some explanation for the incredible times posted on this course. Best of the night was Graham ??? who rode a 16:09. Curley and another guy rode a tandem, which this course is perfect for, and posted a 16:30 something. GeWilli rode his stylish "form follows function" Klein with just Rolf wheels and Spinnacis to a 19:30, over 40 kph. Zoe rode a low 18, so GeW must have had his hands full on the ride back to Providence. :o)
There you have it, the complete report. I'm feeling good right now, but this weekend, other than working the feed and spectating at the Longsjo, I'll be trying to top off my training block with a few more torture sessions. I won't spoil KL and Zoo's right to tell their own tales of how things went up in so-pro stage racer land. Speaking of which, yeah, there is a little race starting over in France tommorow. The excitement has me (and some riders) on pins and needles. Thanks for reading.
This week my warmup was more complete, with at least 10 minutes of easy spinning, followed by 5 minutes sub-LT, more spinning, and then a 2 minute super-LT effort. I also had time to do some high cadence, some low rpm lugging, and even a bit of one-legged pedaling. I was seeded about six riders from last, two spots behind Gewilli. Starting a bit easier than last week, I settled in nicely and felt good. Briefly I got stuck behind a car, even tapping the brakes, as the elderly driver was hesitant to pass three recreational riders who were carelessly road hogging the course. A bit later, the rumble of my disc wheel startled two ducks at the side of the road, and for a minute I thought they were going to fly into me. So not even five minutes into this thing, I'd already had two incidents. Thankfully, that was the last of it.
Where the course opens up with a wide shoulder, the wind started feeling like a hindrance, and I wasn't able to hold my 45 kph pace. Through this section, I was at 42-44 kph most of the time, holding my HR right around 166, which is a few beats over LT. Just past halfway, the course's only small rises slowed me even further, and I sank to 36 kph at one point. For the second rise, I took it out of the 13 cog (which I had been in from the start) and used the 14 for about 500 meters. The last section of the course gets bumpy from crack sealer (huh-huh), but as my Polar later revealed, runs very slightly downhill. Expecting the finish to come up much sooner than it did, I got the speed up to 51 kph at one point, and mostly stayed around 48 kph, flying by GeWilli and another rider, almost catching a third.
"The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!"
There was the finish and the "8.0 mile" painted on the road, 16:59 from the start. That's 44.6 kph average (27+ mph). I'm not sure, but that might be my fastest TT ever. Later analysis of the Polar data revealed an average HR of 168, which is perfect. I may have even moved my LT up a few clicks this season. The graph also revealed that the finish sits at roughly 30 meters less elevation than the start. While imperceptible on the bike, this -0.2% grade provides some explanation for the incredible times posted on this course. Best of the night was Graham ??? who rode a 16:09. Curley and another guy rode a tandem, which this course is perfect for, and posted a 16:30 something. GeWilli rode his stylish "form follows function" Klein with just Rolf wheels and Spinnacis to a 19:30, over 40 kph. Zoe rode a low 18, so GeW must have had his hands full on the ride back to Providence. :o)
There you have it, the complete report. I'm feeling good right now, but this weekend, other than working the feed and spectating at the Longsjo, I'll be trying to top off my training block with a few more torture sessions. I won't spoil KL and Zoo's right to tell their own tales of how things went up in so-pro stage racer land. Speaking of which, yeah, there is a little race starting over in France tommorow. The excitement has me (and some riders) on pins and needles. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
When you're stuck like glue
The good news about gluing up a tire onto a disc wheel: you don't have to worry about getting glue in the spoke holes. The bad news: when it's time to actually put the tire on, you can't hook your toes on the rim like normal. That's right, tire gluing is best done barefoot. Anyhow, where normally I don't get any glue (well, adhesive really) where is doesn't belong, with the disc I made a mess. Luckily Fastack has pretty good cohesive strength, so rolling it off (huh-huh) was not too tough. Of course, once I was finished mounting a brand new Tufo S33, which is a perfectly good all purpose road tire, I took the old stretching rim back up to the bike room. As I threw it in the pile, I spied a previously used, but perfect CX Cronometro. Damn. That would have been fine for TT's. Oh well.
Here is a hilarious link for you: Big Jan's MySpace.
Yesterday's lost thoughts came back to me. All these blogs expose the fears, weaknesses, and mistakes of their authors. Back in the spring, everyone was gung-ho about training and competing. Now that we are a few months into it, I am finding all kinds of stories about injuries, especially on the tri and running blogs. Many of the folks who choose to cronicle their training adventures are just starting out, and they write as a support system. I am seeing a lot of writing from people who expect a huge amount from themselves in a very short time. Getting a bachelor's degree at even the least selective school would take you three to four years, or for someone like me who worked full-time through the entire process, seven years. Wouldn't you think that preparing to complete an ironman triathlon might take more than two years too?
For some people, one year seems to be a magic number. Start running, and within one year do a marathon. Yes, this can be done, but I hope the blog world is not encouraging people to bite off too much too soon, get injured, and leave sport entirely. You need drive to be an athlete, but patience comes in handy too. Athletics should be approached as a lifelong journey, a healthy lifestyle, not one where you break your body down by making it do things you haven't prepared it for.
When I started riding, my knees gave me a lot of trouble. I made the same mistakes that I see a lot of bloggers making, self-diagnosing myself with every ailment known to man. These days, with a plethora of medical advice (qualified or otherwise) available online, the temptation for this folly is much worse. Eventually, I ended up having both knees scoped and all was well, but this was due to real injuries that happened much later. Looking back, my initial ailments were simply from too much too soon. Going from the couch to centuries in one year, my body, especially the skeletal structure, simply could not adapt that quickly.
Pushing hard is a requirement, but use your head. Beginners shouldn't think of a 10K as short race just because it isn't a marathon. You need goals and determination, but you need to be smart too. Putting goals up online for the world to see may be good motivation for those who need it, but not if it pushes them to make foolish decisions and injure themselves out of fear of looking like a failure.
On a brighter note, here is a grainy spy photo of my TT rig:
Sorry, but I dropped the camera a while back and autofocus doesn't work anymore. In the realm of bike porn, this is like an au natural sasquatch shot from an ancient Playboy, but here you go. Hopefully the forecast showers will hold off and I'll see Gewilli down at the Rehoboth TT tonight, and maybe I'll finish the course without a flat this time. All the fast guys will be at Fitchburg today, so good luck to all who are toeing the line. Thanks for reading.
Here is a hilarious link for you: Big Jan's MySpace.
Yesterday's lost thoughts came back to me. All these blogs expose the fears, weaknesses, and mistakes of their authors. Back in the spring, everyone was gung-ho about training and competing. Now that we are a few months into it, I am finding all kinds of stories about injuries, especially on the tri and running blogs. Many of the folks who choose to cronicle their training adventures are just starting out, and they write as a support system. I am seeing a lot of writing from people who expect a huge amount from themselves in a very short time. Getting a bachelor's degree at even the least selective school would take you three to four years, or for someone like me who worked full-time through the entire process, seven years. Wouldn't you think that preparing to complete an ironman triathlon might take more than two years too?
For some people, one year seems to be a magic number. Start running, and within one year do a marathon. Yes, this can be done, but I hope the blog world is not encouraging people to bite off too much too soon, get injured, and leave sport entirely. You need drive to be an athlete, but patience comes in handy too. Athletics should be approached as a lifelong journey, a healthy lifestyle, not one where you break your body down by making it do things you haven't prepared it for.
When I started riding, my knees gave me a lot of trouble. I made the same mistakes that I see a lot of bloggers making, self-diagnosing myself with every ailment known to man. These days, with a plethora of medical advice (qualified or otherwise) available online, the temptation for this folly is much worse. Eventually, I ended up having both knees scoped and all was well, but this was due to real injuries that happened much later. Looking back, my initial ailments were simply from too much too soon. Going from the couch to centuries in one year, my body, especially the skeletal structure, simply could not adapt that quickly.
Pushing hard is a requirement, but use your head. Beginners shouldn't think of a 10K as short race just because it isn't a marathon. You need goals and determination, but you need to be smart too. Putting goals up online for the world to see may be good motivation for those who need it, but not if it pushes them to make foolish decisions and injure themselves out of fear of looking like a failure.
On a brighter note, here is a grainy spy photo of my TT rig:
Sorry, but I dropped the camera a while back and autofocus doesn't work anymore. In the realm of bike porn, this is like an au natural sasquatch shot from an ancient Playboy, but here you go. Hopefully the forecast showers will hold off and I'll see Gewilli down at the Rehoboth TT tonight, and maybe I'll finish the course without a flat this time. All the fast guys will be at Fitchburg today, so good luck to all who are toeing the line. Thanks for reading.
Been caught stealin'
Twice. Last night my plan was to be on the bike by 6:30, and get in two hours before dark. After taking a few minutes to lube my squeaky chain, and finally install a speed sensor on the MBK, I rolled out the driveway at 6:49. At first I thought I'd need to cut the ride short, but the summertime sunset came through for me. My ride took me down to the Silver City Flyer crit course for some short intervals. The Myles Standish Industrial Park has wide, flat roads with long uninterupted runs, and the place is pretty quiet in the evenings. I did an assortment of 1, 2, and 3 minute efforts, pretty much interspersed with equal recovery. I felt OK, and got some good speed, 41-46 kph on the flats, but my HR was not elevating too much. I'm still tired from the weekend.
At 8:30, the dwindling daylight was still good enough for me to extend my route a bit, getting in the full two hours without riding in complete darkness. Summer evenings are so sweet. The traffic was gone, the air was cool, the breeze was comfy. Of course, being wound up a bit from the ride, I was still awake for the 11 o'clock news, seeing the forecast for rain today. They said the morning would be OK, so after five or six hours sleep, I dragged my ass out of bed and was out the door again at 7 am. This ride was just a gentle spin, but I was able to stay out there for an hour and fifteen minutes before coming in and getting cleaned up for a day of telecommuting. Not long after firing up my VPN connection, the skies broke and the rain fell. I had stolen another training ride. Woo-hoo!
Tonight I'll need to glue on a tire if I want to ride the TT bike tommorow. I will head down one way or the other, as I could always ride it cannibal. Hopefully the weather will be OK.
We had a lively discussion about the disparity in prizes between the Pro men and elite women over on GeWilli's blog yesterday. It got me to thinking, even though I know the Feds are the ones who should be doing this, a good website project would be to compile a database of all the race flyers in the country, so that promoters or other interested parties could see what else was out there. I wonder if there is such a thing already.
What else? Hmmmm, I know there was something. I checked out the hit logs, and was not able to identify who all the readers were. Who is using optonline.net? I don't know who cambridecollege.edu is either? Most of the others I could figure out, either by just looking, or matching up the timestamps with the comments. There were a lot more than I thought there would be. Yeah, I know, I should get a life.
I know there was something else, but damned if I can think of it now. Tommorow Fitchburg starts. No, I'm not doing it. I'll be in the feedzone for KL on Saturday. The Cronoman has a Trek/VW popup tent, so maybe we'll be under that. I dug out my old Fitchburg pictures from 92. The only scanner I have is SCSI and I've never got around to making it work on this box, but if I can remember, I'll get some of them ready tommorow or Friday. Thanks for reading, and keep it in the big ring. It's almost friggin' July, now is the time!
At 8:30, the dwindling daylight was still good enough for me to extend my route a bit, getting in the full two hours without riding in complete darkness. Summer evenings are so sweet. The traffic was gone, the air was cool, the breeze was comfy. Of course, being wound up a bit from the ride, I was still awake for the 11 o'clock news, seeing the forecast for rain today. They said the morning would be OK, so after five or six hours sleep, I dragged my ass out of bed and was out the door again at 7 am. This ride was just a gentle spin, but I was able to stay out there for an hour and fifteen minutes before coming in and getting cleaned up for a day of telecommuting. Not long after firing up my VPN connection, the skies broke and the rain fell. I had stolen another training ride. Woo-hoo!
Tonight I'll need to glue on a tire if I want to ride the TT bike tommorow. I will head down one way or the other, as I could always ride it cannibal. Hopefully the weather will be OK.
We had a lively discussion about the disparity in prizes between the Pro men and elite women over on GeWilli's blog yesterday. It got me to thinking, even though I know the Feds are the ones who should be doing this, a good website project would be to compile a database of all the race flyers in the country, so that promoters or other interested parties could see what else was out there. I wonder if there is such a thing already.
What else? Hmmmm, I know there was something. I checked out the hit logs, and was not able to identify who all the readers were. Who is using optonline.net? I don't know who cambridecollege.edu is either? Most of the others I could figure out, either by just looking, or matching up the timestamps with the comments. There were a lot more than I thought there would be. Yeah, I know, I should get a life.
I know there was something else, but damned if I can think of it now. Tommorow Fitchburg starts. No, I'm not doing it. I'll be in the feedzone for KL on Saturday. The Cronoman has a Trek/VW popup tent, so maybe we'll be under that. I dug out my old Fitchburg pictures from 92. The only scanner I have is SCSI and I've never got around to making it work on this box, but if I can remember, I'll get some of them ready tommorow or Friday. Thanks for reading, and keep it in the big ring. It's almost friggin' July, now is the time!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
An Hour a Day
Immersed in the sport? Dedicated athlete? Pushing too hard?
I don't know, but averaging only an hour a day sounds to me like maybe I should shop around for some pink leggings and head on down to the local gym for a spin class. Granted, this does not include the thirty hours of so of running I've done this year. Still, though, it makes you wonder, wouldn't anyone have enough time to train?
The answer, of course, is no. And yes. Of course. Having the physical ability to train is one thing. Do the training and get stronger. Having the capacity to train is quite another. How much of this shit will your life hold? The graph doesn't show the time getting ready, or vegetating, lifeless on the floor post-ride, unable to perform the simplest of household chores. Life happens.
Why mention this today? I'm scheduled for a big block of riding this week, my last before a taper into the Workingman's Stage Race, which by the way, is ON, thanks to the successful arguing of our case before the South Hampton, NH selectperson's board by our crack legal counsel. No, that is not made up; as the bad boys of New England cycling, Team BOB do in fact retain an attorney. He's a good rider and a super nice guy too, and I'm not sure we'd exist without him. Thanks Roger for pulling this one off. So anyway, I am wailed from 26 hours of training in the past 14 days, and I'm not sure how I'm going to pull off another big week in the face of work and rain. I am up against the capacity of my life for training. A sick day is really tempting, but I don't think I can resort to that. I'll just have to find a way. Now where did I put those pink leggings? Thanks for reading.
Click for larger image. Zoom with Firefox and the text will be clear.
I don't know, but averaging only an hour a day sounds to me like maybe I should shop around for some pink leggings and head on down to the local gym for a spin class. Granted, this does not include the thirty hours of so of running I've done this year. Still, though, it makes you wonder, wouldn't anyone have enough time to train?
The answer, of course, is no. And yes. Of course. Having the physical ability to train is one thing. Do the training and get stronger. Having the capacity to train is quite another. How much of this shit will your life hold? The graph doesn't show the time getting ready, or vegetating, lifeless on the floor post-ride, unable to perform the simplest of household chores. Life happens.
Why mention this today? I'm scheduled for a big block of riding this week, my last before a taper into the Workingman's Stage Race, which by the way, is ON, thanks to the successful arguing of our case before the South Hampton, NH selectperson's board by our crack legal counsel. No, that is not made up; as the bad boys of New England cycling, Team BOB do in fact retain an attorney. He's a good rider and a super nice guy too, and I'm not sure we'd exist without him. Thanks Roger for pulling this one off. So anyway, I am wailed from 26 hours of training in the past 14 days, and I'm not sure how I'm going to pull off another big week in the face of work and rain. I am up against the capacity of my life for training. A sick day is really tempting, but I don't think I can resort to that. I'll just have to find a way. Now where did I put those pink leggings? Thanks for reading.
Click for larger image. Zoom with Firefox and the text will be clear.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Rattle and Humm
Rainy weekends in the summer suck. Not only do they prevent us from enjoying nice rides, but since warm temperatures and summer go hand in hand, putting rain into the mix means damp, sticky, muggy, uncomfortable conditions around the house as well. Saturday morning I could not take it anymore, and got off my butt and put an air conditioner back in the window of my living room/office/computer museum/junkyard/rider's lounge. I'll miss the fresh air, but damn is it nice to escape the humidity, recover and relax without sticking to the chair. There are only so many cold foods I enjoy, so at least now I can cook again without having a meltdown. Right now in the morning, with heavy rain, the birds wouldn't be singing anyway. Their songs will be about the only sound of summer I'll miss, along with maybe the neighborhood roosters; perhaps the biggest bonus of living in an artificial atmosphere is the combination of motor drone and shut windows blocks out the cars, lawnmowers, weedwhackers and power tools that seem to be such an important part of my neighbor's lives.
We got a weekend post treat from gewilli yesterday. Our man comments on blog content, and cyclists always talking about the same things. A week or two ago, going over some of my previous eighty entries, I had the realization the repetition and nostalgia in my work reminded me of a trip to Mom's place, and that is not a good thing! Mom is pretty cool in her own way and all, but she has quite a few years on the planet behind her and many of them were spent living pretty hard. I've heard just about all the stories, most several times. One of the rules I strive to live by is to live for today, not yesterday or tommorow. Yesterday matters, because experience counts for more than anything, but I don't want to fall into the trap of relying on yesterday's experience and not learning from today's.
BTW, nobody anywhere has anything to learn from DennisLeary Miller. Editor's note: I am a retard. I got my angry white comedians mixed up. These things happen when you are an old fuck like me. Sorry. If you rely on that stale, talentless retard for inspiration, there isn't much anyone can do to help you. Rehashed, inflammatory drivel from a washed up comedian? That's why I don't have cable. All "commentary" TV is the same crap, just tailored for different audiences. Agree with it, or be pissed off by it, but just watch, and whatever you do, don't think for yourself. I'll never understand why that clown endures, I guess it is because his message has adapted to age and greed along with his fanbase, and I suspect beer has a lot to do with it too.
Humor and bikes though, they're good. Riding a bike may be pretty repetitious too, but like laughing, this I don't tire of. Blogging about bikes, well, yeah, it gets repetitious. We now have thousands of publishers covering a fairly limited topic. You turn the pedals and the bike moves. Funny how everyone writes about gears, training, why wheel x is better than wheel y, energy gel, even chain lube, but nobody seems to write about why the bike doesn't just tip over! Or why cars, even F1 cars, lean to the outside of a corner, but bikes, ahhh, they lean into the corner, just like humans and every animal on the planet does when running. Something must be right about these things. Should I write about these things? Would anyone care? Would I enjoy the writing more if I got "cerebral?" That's supposed to be good, right? Good as opposed to bad? Does that mean people who aren't cerebral are bad? Maybe they can't help it. Maybe they are not as lucky as the great thinkers. Or are they the lucky ones? Am I even spelling "cerebral" correctly?
Truth be told, some people do discuss this stuff. If you really want to kill an afternoon, peruse this thread: Hills? At least I think it is the correct thread. It is old, a bit of a physics discussion about riding a bicycle on an inclined treadmill. Eventually it degenerates into few guys with a lot of education and impressive titles calling each other names. The glory of the internet argument...
The AC has cooled and dried my humble living quarters. My fresh pot of Italian Roast mixed with Decaf Sumatra from the evil coffee on every corner conglomerate has just finished brewing, and I'll be able to enjoy my next cup in air conditioned comfort. The weather over Providence looks to be rather wet today. This is rough for the racers, but even rougher for the promoter. The Providence crit did not appeal to me for a number of reasons, the biggest of which was the format combining the 35+ and 45+ into one race, yet keeping the races prizes/placings separate. That's dumb. If they didn't have the venue long enough for two races, they should have just dumped one. Ahhh, but then they lose the entry fees, and after all, at the big Pro events, the lesser categories are only there for one reason, to help pay the bills. I can understand this, but I can also choose not to participate. Having two groups racing at the same time in a sport like bike racing, where the outcome heavily depends on the group dynamic just waters down (pun intended) the strategic component of the race. I still hope it works out well for everyone who goes. We need more successful big races.
Speaking of which, Fitchburg starts this week. I for one am not doing it. Zoo, despite KL's advice to the contrary, has entered the Cat 4 race, along with fellow BOB'er Scott F. These guys were headed out to Mt Wachusett for a preview ride of the course. Since I am trying to stick to a focused training plan for my one "peak" of the year later next month, and because southern Mass was experiencing much heavier rain than further north, I decided to join them. Leaving the house for the 70 mile drive up to Princeton, the rain was heavy. By the time I got to route 2 the sky was showing some brighter patches. Rolling into the ski area parking lot at 3:15, there was no rain, but the mountain was invisible behind the clouds. There were about a half dozen other riders scattered about doing the same thing we were.
We rolled out and agreed to ride four laps of the 11 mile road race circuit, then take on Wachusett. This would essentially be a simulation of the cat 4 race. The road was wet and we took it easy the first lap. Climbing through Princeton, the skinny (especially for a BOB) Scott F had no problems, but Zoo was not loving the Mur. We regrouped in the feed zone and continued on, finishing the first lap in about 40 minutes. The downhill has been repaved since I last rode here, and is no longer the crack-filled terror fest that nearly claimed the life of Henk Vogels a few years back. When we got to the bottom, I coasted ahead and drilled it hard (huh-huh) in the 12. These guys were probably going to be chasing at this part of the course next Saturday, so they might as well learn now. Scott managed to reel me in after a few k along the slight downgrade on route 140. Zoo came along shortly thereafter. Approaching the Mur de Princeton for the second time, I explained to those guys that my goal for the day was to get in a total of one hour at high intensity (zone 4 or above) and therefore I would be surging on the hills. They said no problem. I motored away on rt 62 and kept it going all the way through the feed and beyond. Going into TT mode, the only place my HR fell was on the big downhill. It is pretty hard to keep pressure on the pedals when you are coasting at 80 kph. When it flattened out, I kept going, all the way back to the climb. The third time up I was feeling the effort, and was a lot slower, but the effort was no less intense. Focusing on applying steady power to the pedals (yes, you can do this even without a power meter) I used all my gears and kept the effort up all the way back to the bottom of the descent for a total of 45 minutes at TT pace.
Turning around, I figured the boys would be coming along any minute. At the base of the descent (well, ascent when headed in this direction), still no sign of them. Reluctantly, I headed up the 140 meter climb (known as One Mile Hill Road). By the time I reached the state park entrance at the top (the road to the summit, where the race finishes) 12 minutes had elapsed since turning around, and still no sign of my BOB compatriots. I figured the fuckers has bagged out a lap early and gone to the summit, so up I went. The road on Wachusett is open to cars, and most of it is one way, so there is an "up" road, and a "down" road. The "down" road is much shorter and thus steeper, and this is the way the race goes up. As this was not race day, I thought it wiser to go follow the "up" road, even though as it turned out the mountain was more or less deserted due to the fog. Doing my best to keep the intensity high, even though the "up" rode has some level spots, the additional 200 meters of climbing took me about 13 minutes. No mates at the top.
I went back down the "down" road, out to the entrance, and continued backwards along the loop. After a few k's there they were. Apparently they had turned around at some point in an attempt to backtrack and head me off. Dumbasses. So I turned around, and now they wanted to go to the summit. Here I go again. Since there were only two cars up there, I advised them it would be OK to go up the "down" road, allowing them to see firsthand what they were in for at the finish next week. I was cooked, but I sucked it up and stayed with Scott as he chatted his way to the summit. I was maxed to stay side by side with him. Zoo came along a few minutes down, but he did OK for a guy with his build.
After going back to the cars in the ski area lot and getting fresh bottles, I headed back out for a cooldown while they headed home. I rode the TT course in reverse, then came back. There were a few CCB's and a Louis Garneau rider out previewing the course as well. By the time I got done it was after 7 pm; what was probably only just over 100k had taken me 3:45 to complete, but that included 1500 meters of climbing and some waiting. My body was drained, especially my arms and shoulders from all the standing climbs. The Polar later revealed I had exceeded my goal of one hour at zone 4 or above by fifteen minutes. After the drive home, dinner came at 10:50, along with a call from KL telling me the Rochester NRC crit had gone OK. The streets down here were still filled with puddles. It took some driving, but I had not only survived a rainy Saturday, but got in one of my best days of training this year.
This morning the rain is even worse. The radar shows clear weather to the north, far, far, north. Should I do it all again? Thanks for reading.
We got a weekend post treat from gewilli yesterday. Our man comments on blog content, and cyclists always talking about the same things. A week or two ago, going over some of my previous eighty entries, I had the realization the repetition and nostalgia in my work reminded me of a trip to Mom's place, and that is not a good thing! Mom is pretty cool in her own way and all, but she has quite a few years on the planet behind her and many of them were spent living pretty hard. I've heard just about all the stories, most several times. One of the rules I strive to live by is to live for today, not yesterday or tommorow. Yesterday matters, because experience counts for more than anything, but I don't want to fall into the trap of relying on yesterday's experience and not learning from today's.
BTW, nobody anywhere has anything to learn from Dennis
Humor and bikes though, they're good. Riding a bike may be pretty repetitious too, but like laughing, this I don't tire of. Blogging about bikes, well, yeah, it gets repetitious. We now have thousands of publishers covering a fairly limited topic. You turn the pedals and the bike moves. Funny how everyone writes about gears, training, why wheel x is better than wheel y, energy gel, even chain lube, but nobody seems to write about why the bike doesn't just tip over! Or why cars, even F1 cars, lean to the outside of a corner, but bikes, ahhh, they lean into the corner, just like humans and every animal on the planet does when running. Something must be right about these things. Should I write about these things? Would anyone care? Would I enjoy the writing more if I got "cerebral?" That's supposed to be good, right? Good as opposed to bad? Does that mean people who aren't cerebral are bad? Maybe they can't help it. Maybe they are not as lucky as the great thinkers. Or are they the lucky ones? Am I even spelling "cerebral" correctly?
Truth be told, some people do discuss this stuff. If you really want to kill an afternoon, peruse this thread: Hills? At least I think it is the correct thread. It is old, a bit of a physics discussion about riding a bicycle on an inclined treadmill. Eventually it degenerates into few guys with a lot of education and impressive titles calling each other names. The glory of the internet argument...
The AC has cooled and dried my humble living quarters. My fresh pot of Italian Roast mixed with Decaf Sumatra from the evil coffee on every corner conglomerate has just finished brewing, and I'll be able to enjoy my next cup in air conditioned comfort. The weather over Providence looks to be rather wet today. This is rough for the racers, but even rougher for the promoter. The Providence crit did not appeal to me for a number of reasons, the biggest of which was the format combining the 35+ and 45+ into one race, yet keeping the races prizes/placings separate. That's dumb. If they didn't have the venue long enough for two races, they should have just dumped one. Ahhh, but then they lose the entry fees, and after all, at the big Pro events, the lesser categories are only there for one reason, to help pay the bills. I can understand this, but I can also choose not to participate. Having two groups racing at the same time in a sport like bike racing, where the outcome heavily depends on the group dynamic just waters down (pun intended) the strategic component of the race. I still hope it works out well for everyone who goes. We need more successful big races.
Speaking of which, Fitchburg starts this week. I for one am not doing it. Zoo, despite KL's advice to the contrary, has entered the Cat 4 race, along with fellow BOB'er Scott F. These guys were headed out to Mt Wachusett for a preview ride of the course. Since I am trying to stick to a focused training plan for my one "peak" of the year later next month, and because southern Mass was experiencing much heavier rain than further north, I decided to join them. Leaving the house for the 70 mile drive up to Princeton, the rain was heavy. By the time I got to route 2 the sky was showing some brighter patches. Rolling into the ski area parking lot at 3:15, there was no rain, but the mountain was invisible behind the clouds. There were about a half dozen other riders scattered about doing the same thing we were.
We rolled out and agreed to ride four laps of the 11 mile road race circuit, then take on Wachusett. This would essentially be a simulation of the cat 4 race. The road was wet and we took it easy the first lap. Climbing through Princeton, the skinny (especially for a BOB) Scott F had no problems, but Zoo was not loving the Mur. We regrouped in the feed zone and continued on, finishing the first lap in about 40 minutes. The downhill has been repaved since I last rode here, and is no longer the crack-filled terror fest that nearly claimed the life of Henk Vogels a few years back. When we got to the bottom, I coasted ahead and drilled it hard (huh-huh) in the 12. These guys were probably going to be chasing at this part of the course next Saturday, so they might as well learn now. Scott managed to reel me in after a few k along the slight downgrade on route 140. Zoo came along shortly thereafter. Approaching the Mur de Princeton for the second time, I explained to those guys that my goal for the day was to get in a total of one hour at high intensity (zone 4 or above) and therefore I would be surging on the hills. They said no problem. I motored away on rt 62 and kept it going all the way through the feed and beyond. Going into TT mode, the only place my HR fell was on the big downhill. It is pretty hard to keep pressure on the pedals when you are coasting at 80 kph. When it flattened out, I kept going, all the way back to the climb. The third time up I was feeling the effort, and was a lot slower, but the effort was no less intense. Focusing on applying steady power to the pedals (yes, you can do this even without a power meter) I used all my gears and kept the effort up all the way back to the bottom of the descent for a total of 45 minutes at TT pace.
Turning around, I figured the boys would be coming along any minute. At the base of the descent (well, ascent when headed in this direction), still no sign of them. Reluctantly, I headed up the 140 meter climb (known as One Mile Hill Road). By the time I reached the state park entrance at the top (the road to the summit, where the race finishes) 12 minutes had elapsed since turning around, and still no sign of my BOB compatriots. I figured the fuckers has bagged out a lap early and gone to the summit, so up I went. The road on Wachusett is open to cars, and most of it is one way, so there is an "up" road, and a "down" road. The "down" road is much shorter and thus steeper, and this is the way the race goes up. As this was not race day, I thought it wiser to go follow the "up" road, even though as it turned out the mountain was more or less deserted due to the fog. Doing my best to keep the intensity high, even though the "up" rode has some level spots, the additional 200 meters of climbing took me about 13 minutes. No mates at the top.
I went back down the "down" road, out to the entrance, and continued backwards along the loop. After a few k's there they were. Apparently they had turned around at some point in an attempt to backtrack and head me off. Dumbasses. So I turned around, and now they wanted to go to the summit. Here I go again. Since there were only two cars up there, I advised them it would be OK to go up the "down" road, allowing them to see firsthand what they were in for at the finish next week. I was cooked, but I sucked it up and stayed with Scott as he chatted his way to the summit. I was maxed to stay side by side with him. Zoo came along a few minutes down, but he did OK for a guy with his build.
After going back to the cars in the ski area lot and getting fresh bottles, I headed back out for a cooldown while they headed home. I rode the TT course in reverse, then came back. There were a few CCB's and a Louis Garneau rider out previewing the course as well. By the time I got done it was after 7 pm; what was probably only just over 100k had taken me 3:45 to complete, but that included 1500 meters of climbing and some waiting. My body was drained, especially my arms and shoulders from all the standing climbs. The Polar later revealed I had exceeded my goal of one hour at zone 4 or above by fifteen minutes. After the drive home, dinner came at 10:50, along with a call from KL telling me the Rochester NRC crit had gone OK. The streets down here were still filled with puddles. It took some driving, but I had not only survived a rainy Saturday, but got in one of my best days of training this year.
This morning the rain is even worse. The radar shows clear weather to the north, far, far, north. Should I do it all again? Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Boom, pssssst
Last night my rear tire blew just before halfway in the Rehoboth time trial. I was bummed, because I think I had a good ride going. For the first 5.7K of the 12.7K course, I was averaging 45.8 kph. This may have been my fastest TT ever. Of course, this was a point to point race, and we may have had a tailwind, as the top two riders averaged around 48 kph, which is just unreal for a local event. The course is almost totally flat. The pavement on the first half was nice and smooth, but after changing wheels, I rode to the end to see what it was like and the second half was a lot bumpier and probably slower. Still though, I think I was on target to complete the course in around 17 minutes flat, versus the fast time of the night which was 16 flat. Next week...
Last weekend's racing really kicked my ass. Earlier in the week I was pretty lifeless, but each day I have gone out on the bike and felt better. Last night my warmup left a lot to be desired, but still I had my HR in the zone (5B, right where I want it in a short TT), and it would have been great to get the full 17 minutes of intensity instead of just 7. After mounting the spare wheel, I tried to ride a little bit hard, but it just wouldn't happen after the let down of a DNF.
This morning I felt OK on my ride around town to loosen up. My June hours are still pretty low, and it will take some ultra-rides to make my goal of 40+ hours for the month. That may not happen. Earlier in the month, most of my riding was racing, and my time on the bike was 21% high intensity (zone 4 or above) as of last week. Now I am back down to my "normal" 17%, so if I can't get my planned total hours in for the month, then I would like to at least make my 6.4 hours of intensity. Therefore, my goal for the weekend is to get in some good, intense training, while avoiding race entry fees. Again, I am not sure if that is going to work out, as with rain in the forecast, maybe I'd have a better chance going to Ninigret on Saturday, or perhaps taking the low-cost option of riding to Wells Ave for the BRC training series on Sunday. That is only $10 and I would save gas, but still be forced to ride no matter the weather.
Well, we are now into real summer. The days are about to start getting shorter. Don't let it pass you by. The hardest part is always just getting your butt out the door. Training and racing are easy; the rest of the stuff that makes up life is always the most difficult to deal with. Everyone has crap to in their life: kids, parents, school, work, laundry, cooking, cleaning, bike maintenance, car b.s., commuting, social affairs, doctors, lawyers, locusts, you name it! Of course some of us have more to do than others. The actual amount of time spent on the bike remains pretty small for almost all of us. I am pretty lucky right now, I know that. Thanks for reading, and best of luck to all of you too. Mofos...
Last weekend's racing really kicked my ass. Earlier in the week I was pretty lifeless, but each day I have gone out on the bike and felt better. Last night my warmup left a lot to be desired, but still I had my HR in the zone (5B, right where I want it in a short TT), and it would have been great to get the full 17 minutes of intensity instead of just 7. After mounting the spare wheel, I tried to ride a little bit hard, but it just wouldn't happen after the let down of a DNF.
This morning I felt OK on my ride around town to loosen up. My June hours are still pretty low, and it will take some ultra-rides to make my goal of 40+ hours for the month. That may not happen. Earlier in the month, most of my riding was racing, and my time on the bike was 21% high intensity (zone 4 or above) as of last week. Now I am back down to my "normal" 17%, so if I can't get my planned total hours in for the month, then I would like to at least make my 6.4 hours of intensity. Therefore, my goal for the weekend is to get in some good, intense training, while avoiding race entry fees. Again, I am not sure if that is going to work out, as with rain in the forecast, maybe I'd have a better chance going to Ninigret on Saturday, or perhaps taking the low-cost option of riding to Wells Ave for the BRC training series on Sunday. That is only $10 and I would save gas, but still be forced to ride no matter the weather.
Well, we are now into real summer. The days are about to start getting shorter. Don't let it pass you by. The hardest part is always just getting your butt out the door. Training and racing are easy; the rest of the stuff that makes up life is always the most difficult to deal with. Everyone has crap to in their life: kids, parents, school, work, laundry, cooking, cleaning, bike maintenance, car b.s., commuting, social affairs, doctors, lawyers, locusts, you name it! Of course some of us have more to do than others. The actual amount of time spent on the bike remains pretty small for almost all of us. I am pretty lucky right now, I know that. Thanks for reading, and best of luck to all of you too. Mofos...
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Bikes
In roughly reverse chronological order.
Pics to follow if I can find them.
*** correction: As noted by rightcoast1, my MTB is a Yo Eddy. He should know, he built it. Not that I don't know the difference between a Yo and a Wicked; it's just that to me Wicked is synonomous with Fat Chance, distinguishing them from IF's. I know that isn't correct, but that's just the way I end up thinking of things.
- 2006 Motobecane Le Champion SL
- Hot Tubes CX (painted as Team Saturn Lemond, bought from Markie Mark)
- 1984 Marukin converted to TT bike
- 1994 Slim Chance
- 1990 Panasonic Team IME road bike (also bought from Markie Mark)
- Torrelli CX bike
- Fat Chance Yo Eddy MTB (still my only MTB)
- Bianchi Equinox CX (crashed into a tree at Plymouth, broke frame in 2 places)
- Cannondale MTB #2 (gave to nephew)
- Cannondale MTB #1 (rear triangle broke off, was warranteed) I was a drop bar MTB'er.
- Cannondale 3.0 Road bike (Bike Link Team Issue)
- Nishiki TT bike donated to Bikes not Bombs as part of the Artbike auction
- Haro Trials Bike won in a raffle at Fight for the Forest MTB race, sold to Todd Downs a week later.
- 1988 Rossin SLX, full Chorus, my first thoroughbred racing bike, currently a fixed gear track bike
- 1986 Specialized Rockhopper, this thing did it all. Still being ridden by my bro.
- 1986 Specialized Allez SE (still have it, my first racing bike)
- 1984? Motobecane Nomade ($169 special that got me back into riding).
- ~1970 LaPierre Tour de France - $50, obtained by a shady relative who ended up in federal prison after being implicated in a gun-running operation (alleged to have been headed by Whitey Bulger) to supply the IRA with automatic weapons stolen from the Danvers Armory. Simplex, Mafac, etc. Better than any other 12 year olds bike, that's for sure. And at the time, I was naive and had no idea it might have been stolen.
- various dump bikes, assembled after numerous trash day scouting missions. Some choppers.
- 24" Fleetwing single speed. A real tank, built in headlight/faux gas tank. Use to deliver papers on my Globe and Patriot Ledger routes. Bought new for $24.99 at the Jordan Marsh warehouse store in Newton (near Riverside T-stop, long gone now).
- Columbia 20" wheel Stingray, aka Monkey bike. My first new bike! A Christmas gift. In the late sixties, early seventies, we were BMX pioneers and made number plates out of Cool Whip container tops.
- Fleetwing 20" wheel hand me down. Maybe bought at Western Auto for my older bro.
Pics to follow if I can find them.
*** correction: As noted by rightcoast1, my MTB is a Yo Eddy. He should know, he built it. Not that I don't know the difference between a Yo and a Wicked; it's just that to me Wicked is synonomous with Fat Chance, distinguishing them from IF's. I know that isn't correct, but that's just the way I end up thinking of things.
Like freaks of a feather, we rock together
As promised, here is the graphic version of the ugly Housatonic Hills course story. Pretty closely matches the published profile, but in practice the third hill each lap was actually a series of smaller hills, and not nearly as hard as the first two. The climb at the end was pretty tough.
Today I have more ideas than time. Maybe later on, but for now I can't stay. Bolder, I entered a clarification in the comments of my post from the 18th. Ge-Willi, congratulations on the new crib. I can't say that I am familiar with that part of RI, but it seems like the riding would be better than over on the mainland. One year we were totally snowed in here, but Sakonnet point wasn't and there were some big groups rides hosted out of Tiverton every weekend. That's about the only time I've been down there. That is a bit further east though, you would have to cross the might Taunton River too, right? Or do they call it Fall River Bay or something? Speaking of which, tommorow I wisely scheduled myself a meeting at our Fall River facility (actually we are renting in the UMass-Dartmouth Tech Center until our building is finished) so I should be able to make a quick and easy escape to Rehoboth for the TT.
Now time to throw down (a challenge, which will motivate me to do the same). I've been thinking about posting a complete history of my bicycle ownership, all the way back to first grade. Why don't y'all do the same? Pictures would be even better, although I ain't got much (we were poor. Most of my baby pictures are black and white). I know I won't be able to remember them all, but it starts with a 20" Fleetwing hand-me-down. I didn't learn to ride until the summer between first and second grade. Embarassing yes, but I taught myself! No one was there to see the first pedal strokes. Funny part is I still live about 3 miles from there, so I cut through the old 'hood and ride that hallowed pavement every now and again. Thanks for reading.
Today I have more ideas than time. Maybe later on, but for now I can't stay. Bolder, I entered a clarification in the comments of my post from the 18th. Ge-Willi, congratulations on the new crib. I can't say that I am familiar with that part of RI, but it seems like the riding would be better than over on the mainland. One year we were totally snowed in here, but Sakonnet point wasn't and there were some big groups rides hosted out of Tiverton every weekend. That's about the only time I've been down there. That is a bit further east though, you would have to cross the might Taunton River too, right? Or do they call it Fall River Bay or something? Speaking of which, tommorow I wisely scheduled myself a meeting at our Fall River facility (actually we are renting in the UMass-Dartmouth Tech Center until our building is finished) so I should be able to make a quick and easy escape to Rehoboth for the TT.
Now time to throw down (a challenge, which will motivate me to do the same). I've been thinking about posting a complete history of my bicycle ownership, all the way back to first grade. Why don't y'all do the same? Pictures would be even better, although I ain't got much (we were poor. Most of my baby pictures are black and white). I know I won't be able to remember them all, but it starts with a 20" Fleetwing hand-me-down. I didn't learn to ride until the summer between first and second grade. Embarassing yes, but I taught myself! No one was there to see the first pedal strokes. Funny part is I still live about 3 miles from there, so I cut through the old 'hood and ride that hallowed pavement every now and again. Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Get a haircut, and get a real job
My apologies for the lack of a decent post today. After the weekend, my legs were sore. Not normal muscle soreness, more like connective tissue issues. Last night I enjoyed a wonderful late evening spin around the 'hood, no pressure, on the pedals or otherwise. After an early trip to bed, I awoke nice and refreshed today, but rather than go riding, or even get ready for Wompatuck, instead I took the time to do not much of anything, not even bloggin. After installing new cleats on my Rocket 7's, I still had time to give myself a haircut. Yes, I am a cheap mofo, and since 50% of the time my $15-20 results in a crappy haircut anyway, I may as well do it myself.
The end result was a well-groomed and rested solobreak for me, and not much of a blog entry for you. Tonight I will skip Wompatuck and just go for a spin instead. By popular demand, I'll try to get the Polar graph from Housatonic up for you, although I still haven't put the speed and cadence sensors on the new bike. I'm thinking about heading to the Bikeworks TT Thursday night. This could work. I won't be using my early exit pass today, so maybe I can pull it off on Thursday. I just had my review anyway. With any luck, next year I'll make more than I did in 1989. You see, this career switch thing was trading a really shitty job with pretty good pay for a pretty good job with really shitty pay. Which is pretty shitty, really. Thanks for reading.
The end result was a well-groomed and rested solobreak for me, and not much of a blog entry for you. Tonight I will skip Wompatuck and just go for a spin instead. By popular demand, I'll try to get the Polar graph from Housatonic up for you, although I still haven't put the speed and cadence sensors on the new bike. I'm thinking about heading to the Bikeworks TT Thursday night. This could work. I won't be using my early exit pass today, so maybe I can pull it off on Thursday. I just had my review anyway. With any luck, next year I'll make more than I did in 1989. You see, this career switch thing was trading a really shitty job with pretty good pay for a pretty good job with really shitty pay. Which is pretty shitty, really. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Riding wild on a paisley dragon
Friday KL and I got out for a nice, leisurely 4+ hour tour of the swamp yankee villages. We did a counter-clockwise loop from Easton, passing through Norton, Attleboro, Taunton, Rehoboth, Dighton, Berkeley, Assonet, Freetown, Rochester, Lakeville, and Raynham. I was reminded of how nice riding during the middle of the workday can be -- no traffic anywhere. The 120K course profile was about as flat as you'll find anywhere. Well, almost anywhere...
Saturday, after deciding Friday night that driving all the way to New York for a time trial would be foolish, we headed down to Stafford Motor Speedway, in Stafford, Connecticut for the Cyclonauts Criterium. Originally, I wasn't too psyched about a sprint fest on a half-mile speedway, but KL was game to ride a crit, and it also turned out that the course would go the opposite way the cars race, using some of the infield roads to make an "S" turn chicane to spice things up. Just as some of your best rides end up being the ones where you almost don't go, this race turned out to be a lot of fun. The forecast was for scorching hot weather, but an overcast with a nice breeze greeted us when we pulled in to the pit area.
KL raced first in a combined Master men 50+, women 30+ event. All categories except the 1,2,3 race did 40 laps. The lap times were only about one minute, as the lap distance was a few hundred feet shorter than a half mile due to the shortcut we took through the infield. This section made it interesting, and a bit dicey in some of the lower categories. The main speedway was over four lanes wide, but the pit road was as narrow as Wompatuck. KL raced hard and was one of only three women in the group to avoid getting dropped and lapped (although some of the lappers managed to find their way into the results. I guess the zebras were not paying attention). She was out there closing gaps and chasing breaks to riders like Curley and Hagen. She always has fun racing with the master men, and this was no exception. Plus, as this was 30+ for the women, the cat is out of the bag and now everyone knows she is not a teenager. Big Johnnie won the overall in a photo finish over Curley, who of course launched his trademark protest, claiming a dead heat and demanding a reride. Johnnie should have given the prick what he wanted and then just laid him out on the tarmac, but instead he just told him to quit whining, and the officials let the ruling stand. Chalk up a win for BOB!
My race, the 40+ was next. A dissappointing field of only about 35 riders lined up. Me, Duano, the Cronoman, Big John, Ranger Rusnak, Jim, Tom C, and JWR4 were representing BOB, which meant we had the numbers. My plan was to attack at the gun. Well, almost, as I couldn't get into my pedal right away, and I did not make it into the chicane first. Coming out of it onto the straightaway, off I went. Ranger, Hagen, and the Cronoman chased onto me and we had 11 seconds at one point, but the field had sped up with them and reeled us in. A few laps later, Rano (Gearworx) and Tyler Munroe (CCB-Evil Empire) sped off to a half straightaway lead. No BOB riders up there, and as the two strongest riders in the race, I knew instantly that this was it. Luckily, I had super legs and bridged the gap in no time. Ranger Rusnak also came across, and now we had two BOB in a break of four, with the only other strong teams represented. We got in a nice, smooth rotation, and had a half a lap on the field in just a few minutes. Ranger overextended and dropped off, but I was in a zone and kept driving it. When I heard 39 seconds, I realized that we could lap the field. There was nobody left in there who was chasing, as BOB had easily shut it down. Munroe and Rano preferred to stay isolated, and it was up to me to finish it off. It took two extra long pulls, but we made contact just 18 minutes after we went off, and now the race for the win would be between just the three of us.
There was a second break containing Big John and Tommy Mannion about twenty seconds ahead of the field. They had picked up the Ranger on his way back from our break, so all six paying spots were taken. Tyler and Rano each had only one strong rider to help them in the field, whereas I had six. Somehow, we failed to communicate, and when the break caught the back of the field, all the BOB guys were at the front of it (although it was down to less than 20 riders at this point). I would have preferred to have them at the back to immediately pace me back through for a solo counter, but we were not able to communicate this, and their sprinter's instincts took over, assuming we would setup a sprint. I have no top end and wanted no part of any kind of sprint against these two guys.
I tried repeatedly to attack, but it was fruitless. All the paying spots were long gone, but others were attacking too, and Tyler and Rano's boys responded to my moves as well. Into the last lap I made one good attack and got a small gap, but coming out of the chicane I glanced back and I thought Tyler was right on me. I eased, but it turned out it was Chris Naimie (Sunapee) and I missed his wheel as he flew down the backstretch. It was a longshot, but I tried to catch on, but I barely got a draft and as we rounded the final turn, Tom Stevens roared by giving his teammate Rano an impressive leadout. Tyler was on them, and I faded, getting third. Oh well. It was a bummer to let the team down at the end. Even though we didn't work well together for the finish, it was their presence that made the break possible. Johnnie and Ranger also finished in the money, so at least we got three out of six paying spots. Here is the polar data. Notice how flat the profile comes out when riding around a speedway:
Housatonic Hills... ughhh. The good news is that KL came in third in her race, so there was rejoicing in the payline for the second day in a row. The heat was the big story, but to be honest, for a 95K race on a 95 degree day, the conditions were about as good as they could get. There was not much humidity, there was a light breeze, and most of the course, including the climbs, runs under a canopy of trees, providing heavy shade. The heat in the parking area was a lot worse than what we felt out on the course. The up and down nature of the profile also meant the next screaming downhill was never far off, which of course cools you down better than anything other than a pool. We never would have even found the race, but thankfully Amanda saw us take the wrong exit and chased us down in her rent-a-truck, leading us to the event. Thanks Amanda!
People were bitching about the potholes, but again, other than one or two moon craters, I thought the roads were excellent. I think the Zipp revolution has severely skewed some rider's sense of reality when it come to what constitutes good pavement. This was a great course. The climbs were not as big as what I expected, but obviously they were hard enough as I was never in the front group. Results haven't been posted yet, but at least twenty riders went clear in my race and I was near my limits in the second group. Not knowing the course, and with worries about hydration, I rode conservatively. We had 20-25 in group two, and the pace was hard for me, but I was OK and we stayed together on the climbs. On the second lap I felt better, and having now seen the course helped. When we got to the finish climb, which I had not reconniteured, I went to the front, but three riders (including our friend Curley) moved past on the steep part and I could not follow. I ended up dicing around with a few others, and I attacked where the road flattened, losing all but one. The finish was actually downhill, and I was in my 52x14, but the guy got my wheel and outsprinted me. I don't know where I finished, but it might have been top 30. We'll see.
Justin Spinelli won the Pro-1,2 race, so that was cool. KL did well on the finish climb, but the downhill sprint undid her efforts and she got third against some classy riders. Driving home, we went past a billboard advertising weight loss surgery. WTF? Send the fuckers to Housatonic. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, after deciding Friday night that driving all the way to New York for a time trial would be foolish, we headed down to Stafford Motor Speedway, in Stafford, Connecticut for the Cyclonauts Criterium. Originally, I wasn't too psyched about a sprint fest on a half-mile speedway, but KL was game to ride a crit, and it also turned out that the course would go the opposite way the cars race, using some of the infield roads to make an "S" turn chicane to spice things up. Just as some of your best rides end up being the ones where you almost don't go, this race turned out to be a lot of fun. The forecast was for scorching hot weather, but an overcast with a nice breeze greeted us when we pulled in to the pit area.
KL raced first in a combined Master men 50+, women 30+ event. All categories except the 1,2,3 race did 40 laps. The lap times were only about one minute, as the lap distance was a few hundred feet shorter than a half mile due to the shortcut we took through the infield. This section made it interesting, and a bit dicey in some of the lower categories. The main speedway was over four lanes wide, but the pit road was as narrow as Wompatuck. KL raced hard and was one of only three women in the group to avoid getting dropped and lapped (although some of the lappers managed to find their way into the results. I guess the zebras were not paying attention). She was out there closing gaps and chasing breaks to riders like Curley and Hagen. She always has fun racing with the master men, and this was no exception. Plus, as this was 30+ for the women, the cat is out of the bag and now everyone knows she is not a teenager. Big Johnnie won the overall in a photo finish over Curley, who of course launched his trademark protest, claiming a dead heat and demanding a reride. Johnnie should have given the prick what he wanted and then just laid him out on the tarmac, but instead he just told him to quit whining, and the officials let the ruling stand. Chalk up a win for BOB!
My race, the 40+ was next. A dissappointing field of only about 35 riders lined up. Me, Duano, the Cronoman, Big John, Ranger Rusnak, Jim, Tom C, and JWR4 were representing BOB, which meant we had the numbers. My plan was to attack at the gun. Well, almost, as I couldn't get into my pedal right away, and I did not make it into the chicane first. Coming out of it onto the straightaway, off I went. Ranger, Hagen, and the Cronoman chased onto me and we had 11 seconds at one point, but the field had sped up with them and reeled us in. A few laps later, Rano (Gearworx) and Tyler Munroe (CCB-Evil Empire) sped off to a half straightaway lead. No BOB riders up there, and as the two strongest riders in the race, I knew instantly that this was it. Luckily, I had super legs and bridged the gap in no time. Ranger Rusnak also came across, and now we had two BOB in a break of four, with the only other strong teams represented. We got in a nice, smooth rotation, and had a half a lap on the field in just a few minutes. Ranger overextended and dropped off, but I was in a zone and kept driving it. When I heard 39 seconds, I realized that we could lap the field. There was nobody left in there who was chasing, as BOB had easily shut it down. Munroe and Rano preferred to stay isolated, and it was up to me to finish it off. It took two extra long pulls, but we made contact just 18 minutes after we went off, and now the race for the win would be between just the three of us.
There was a second break containing Big John and Tommy Mannion about twenty seconds ahead of the field. They had picked up the Ranger on his way back from our break, so all six paying spots were taken. Tyler and Rano each had only one strong rider to help them in the field, whereas I had six. Somehow, we failed to communicate, and when the break caught the back of the field, all the BOB guys were at the front of it (although it was down to less than 20 riders at this point). I would have preferred to have them at the back to immediately pace me back through for a solo counter, but we were not able to communicate this, and their sprinter's instincts took over, assuming we would setup a sprint. I have no top end and wanted no part of any kind of sprint against these two guys.
I tried repeatedly to attack, but it was fruitless. All the paying spots were long gone, but others were attacking too, and Tyler and Rano's boys responded to my moves as well. Into the last lap I made one good attack and got a small gap, but coming out of the chicane I glanced back and I thought Tyler was right on me. I eased, but it turned out it was Chris Naimie (Sunapee) and I missed his wheel as he flew down the backstretch. It was a longshot, but I tried to catch on, but I barely got a draft and as we rounded the final turn, Tom Stevens roared by giving his teammate Rano an impressive leadout. Tyler was on them, and I faded, getting third. Oh well. It was a bummer to let the team down at the end. Even though we didn't work well together for the finish, it was their presence that made the break possible. Johnnie and Ranger also finished in the money, so at least we got three out of six paying spots. Here is the polar data. Notice how flat the profile comes out when riding around a speedway:
Housatonic Hills... ughhh. The good news is that KL came in third in her race, so there was rejoicing in the payline for the second day in a row. The heat was the big story, but to be honest, for a 95K race on a 95 degree day, the conditions were about as good as they could get. There was not much humidity, there was a light breeze, and most of the course, including the climbs, runs under a canopy of trees, providing heavy shade. The heat in the parking area was a lot worse than what we felt out on the course. The up and down nature of the profile also meant the next screaming downhill was never far off, which of course cools you down better than anything other than a pool. We never would have even found the race, but thankfully Amanda saw us take the wrong exit and chased us down in her rent-a-truck, leading us to the event. Thanks Amanda!
People were bitching about the potholes, but again, other than one or two moon craters, I thought the roads were excellent. I think the Zipp revolution has severely skewed some rider's sense of reality when it come to what constitutes good pavement. This was a great course. The climbs were not as big as what I expected, but obviously they were hard enough as I was never in the front group. Results haven't been posted yet, but at least twenty riders went clear in my race and I was near my limits in the second group. Not knowing the course, and with worries about hydration, I rode conservatively. We had 20-25 in group two, and the pace was hard for me, but I was OK and we stayed together on the climbs. On the second lap I felt better, and having now seen the course helped. When we got to the finish climb, which I had not reconniteured, I went to the front, but three riders (including our friend Curley) moved past on the steep part and I could not follow. I ended up dicing around with a few others, and I attacked where the road flattened, losing all but one. The finish was actually downhill, and I was in my 52x14, but the guy got my wheel and outsprinted me. I don't know where I finished, but it might have been top 30. We'll see.
Justin Spinelli won the Pro-1,2 race, so that was cool. KL did well on the finish climb, but the downhill sprint undid her efforts and she got third against some classy riders. Driving home, we went past a billboard advertising weight loss surgery. WTF? Send the fuckers to Housatonic. Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Spent some time in the Mudville Nine
We went to the Brockton Rox baseball game last night. The team has been around for about three years, and they play in the beautiful new Campanelli Stadium built next to the largest high school in Massachusetts (4300 students). The Can-Am League team provides a bright spot for the often maligned city, and the entire project has been quite a success, with excellent attendance and community support. We had a lot of fun for our $4 admission (the $2 16 oz Naragansett drafts didn't hurt) and three of us stayed all the way until the 12th inning when the Rox lost the game 6-5 on two questionable calls by the umps.
This level of independent minor league ball is probably about the equivalent of regional Pro 1-2 bike racing. The independent leagues tend to have more older players than the MLB affiliated "A" ball, because those teams are required to have a certain number of young players on their rosters. So it is said that the Can-Am league is at a level between "A" and "AA," with some players on the way up, and more on the way down, sometimes including a few who mades it all the way to the bigs. Like the second-tier domestic pros, and many Cat 1's and 2's, most of these guys cannot rely on the sport as their sole source of income. The better guys make a few bucks from this, but for the most part they make sacrifices in order to pursue a sport that they are pretty damn good at, just not good enough to make a real living.
Some years back I remember reading a quote from somebody who said "we'll know cycling has arrived as a sport when there are as many cycling coaches in the yellow pages as there are tennis and golf coaches." Well, we don't use the yellow pages very much anymore, but at least a few riders and others have made a successful transition to valid employment teaching the sport of cycling. Believe it or not, fifteen years ago this was not the case. Almost all coaches were volunteers, with just a handful getting a salary or stipend from the USCF.
Cycling may not have reached the status of tennis, golf, or baseball, but at least its popularity and acceptance as a sport has grown to the point where the numbers are getting large enough for a coaching market to exist. Some of the Rox players, as well as many players in the post-college Cape Cod League work as youth league or high school coaches. Wouldn't it be nice if semi-pro type Cat 2 cyclists could supplement their winnings with a job as a high school cycling coach?
This may never happen. There are a few obstacles in the way of the growth of cycling. We have all see the impact of sprawl on the availability of good race courses, or even decent training routes. Cycling is expensive too, at least compared to most stick and ball sports. The biggest factor though, and the reason that I don't believe in aggressive outreach programs that target juniors, or anyone else, is that the sport is damn hard. You have to want to participate. Nobody can push you into this, nor should they. This sport is for people whose drive comes from within. Anyone who takes shortcuts or refuses to take a realistic view of where their abilities lie will never achieve much in cycling. A coach, or a local, regional, or national development program can provide support and guidance, but the rider has to be the one who gets out there every day and makes it happen. You can survive at the local novice level with a half-ass commitment, and maybe have some fun and get some social benefits, but you certainly don't need a coach, or much else, to do that.
This sport is totally cool. In contrast to baseball teams, our teams are more like gangs (link to half-written explanation). You don't need anyone else to go train. What the hell am I talking about anyway? I don't know. Maybe some of that 'gansett just hasn't been metabolized yet. This (bike racing, not blogging) must be a lot of fun, or else why would we love it so much?
Today is a vacation day. Not just a vacation day, but a glorious June vacation day. KL is on her way down now (school is out for the summer!) and we are going to go out for a nice long ride. I'd better get re-hydrated and fed so as not to delay our departure. Maybe I'll rig up an elastic band on my front brifter so that I don't have to listen to it rattle all day. Sunday is the Hoosatonic race. Zephyr Cycling has some pictures of the course on their website, and the roads sure look small. We have 84 preregged in the 45+, and about 35 riders from the 55+ will start with us, so I guess I should not hang out at the back of the pack reading the paper. I've heard the race goes up the road on the first climb, just 12k into it, so you have to make sure you are in the front split. This will be a real test. I suppose I should give myself a haircut too, as temps in the 90's are predicted, so promoting a little airflow through the helmet might be a good idea. Congratulations if you made it this far. Did I say anything? Truth be told, a harsh story lies hidden in here, but maybe I'm getting too old and nice to tell it like it is anymore. Thanks for reading!
This level of independent minor league ball is probably about the equivalent of regional Pro 1-2 bike racing. The independent leagues tend to have more older players than the MLB affiliated "A" ball, because those teams are required to have a certain number of young players on their rosters. So it is said that the Can-Am league is at a level between "A" and "AA," with some players on the way up, and more on the way down, sometimes including a few who mades it all the way to the bigs. Like the second-tier domestic pros, and many Cat 1's and 2's, most of these guys cannot rely on the sport as their sole source of income. The better guys make a few bucks from this, but for the most part they make sacrifices in order to pursue a sport that they are pretty damn good at, just not good enough to make a real living.
Some years back I remember reading a quote from somebody who said "we'll know cycling has arrived as a sport when there are as many cycling coaches in the yellow pages as there are tennis and golf coaches." Well, we don't use the yellow pages very much anymore, but at least a few riders and others have made a successful transition to valid employment teaching the sport of cycling. Believe it or not, fifteen years ago this was not the case. Almost all coaches were volunteers, with just a handful getting a salary or stipend from the USCF.
Cycling may not have reached the status of tennis, golf, or baseball, but at least its popularity and acceptance as a sport has grown to the point where the numbers are getting large enough for a coaching market to exist. Some of the Rox players, as well as many players in the post-college Cape Cod League work as youth league or high school coaches. Wouldn't it be nice if semi-pro type Cat 2 cyclists could supplement their winnings with a job as a high school cycling coach?
This may never happen. There are a few obstacles in the way of the growth of cycling. We have all see the impact of sprawl on the availability of good race courses, or even decent training routes. Cycling is expensive too, at least compared to most stick and ball sports. The biggest factor though, and the reason that I don't believe in aggressive outreach programs that target juniors, or anyone else, is that the sport is damn hard. You have to want to participate. Nobody can push you into this, nor should they. This sport is for people whose drive comes from within. Anyone who takes shortcuts or refuses to take a realistic view of where their abilities lie will never achieve much in cycling. A coach, or a local, regional, or national development program can provide support and guidance, but the rider has to be the one who gets out there every day and makes it happen. You can survive at the local novice level with a half-ass commitment, and maybe have some fun and get some social benefits, but you certainly don't need a coach, or much else, to do that.
This sport is totally cool. In contrast to baseball teams, our teams are more like gangs (link to half-written explanation). You don't need anyone else to go train. What the hell am I talking about anyway? I don't know. Maybe some of that 'gansett just hasn't been metabolized yet. This (bike racing, not blogging) must be a lot of fun, or else why would we love it so much?
Today is a vacation day. Not just a vacation day, but a glorious June vacation day. KL is on her way down now (school is out for the summer!) and we are going to go out for a nice long ride. I'd better get re-hydrated and fed so as not to delay our departure. Maybe I'll rig up an elastic band on my front brifter so that I don't have to listen to it rattle all day. Sunday is the Hoosatonic race. Zephyr Cycling has some pictures of the course on their website, and the roads sure look small. We have 84 preregged in the 45+, and about 35 riders from the 55+ will start with us, so I guess I should not hang out at the back of the pack reading the paper. I've heard the race goes up the road on the first climb, just 12k into it, so you have to make sure you are in the front split. This will be a real test. I suppose I should give myself a haircut too, as temps in the 90's are predicted, so promoting a little airflow through the helmet might be a good idea. Congratulations if you made it this far. Did I say anything? Truth be told, a harsh story lies hidden in here, but maybe I'm getting too old and nice to tell it like it is anymore. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Pour your misery down
Woke up to pouring rain again. What a surprise. Right now it looks to have tapered off, and I am tempted to go for a run, but I think I will pass. Last night I got a nice massage, it has been a month since the last one and my quads were starting to get adhesions. After my last few massages, some kind of muscle-twisting has always managed to find its way onto my schedule the next day. It would be nice to enjoy the benefits of being all flushed and loose (huh-huh) for a few days before starting the knotting process all over again. I was hoping for a nice easy ride this morning, but if I want that I might have to resort to the trainer, which honestly does not seem too appealing right now.
Michele's blog has a link to results from the NEBC TT from last week. There are a lot of very fast times posted there, and from people I've never heard of. Damn, am I old or what? This led me to dig through the archives for my times. Turns out they've shortened the course since the last time I did this in 93. Still though, over 27 mph (44 kph) is hauling for that distance.
I need to get out to do a TT. The Cronoman and I have been debating the pros and cons of entering Fitchburg. I would like to do the TT stage, but the rest of the race is not good for me, and the price/travel/commitment will probably scare me off. There is no 45+ race, so we would need to do the 35+. Zoo entered the Cat 4 field months ago, but now sickness, work, and what looks to me like a lack of fortitude have left his preparations leaving a bit to be desired. He made the mistake of posting a request for advice on the Team BOB mailing list. KL told him "get your money back while you still can." And you thought I was a hardass...
With five weeks left to the WMSR, I am trying to figure out how to schedule my training. My prime focus is the TT, and some of my other favorite races, Monson and Bow, come in the weeks following. The June totals are going to look pretty low, but I'll wait and see how the next weeks go before tallying them up. I need a good build, but timing the taper just right will be a little tricky.
The US Navy has a cool web applet to create a chart of sunrise/sunset times for various locations. Even though the longest daylight comes on June 21, the latest sunsets still hold on for several days after that, but the sunrises get later in the morning. Basically, the days do not shorten/lengthen in symmetry. According to their charts, up north where KL resides, the sunrise is only four minutes earlier than down here in Boston. So far this year I've only had a few "late summer night" rides, so I hope to do some more soon, as this is one of my favorites parts about cycling.
Ge-Willi, (apparently being bound and gagged in marital bliss, perhaps Free-Willi would be more appopriate) has some snip on his blog about me being full of excuses. Excuses for what? Not riding to work, yeah maybe, but I don't recall publishing them. ??? Zoo has started updating again too, but he still has his April 17 training plan up there. How about showing us what you actually did, not just what happened right before the alarm went off? Matt's Daily Blog has been anything but lately. Perhaps his fingers are so blistered from gluing tires that he can no longer type. Feltslave has been both upping his game on the bike, as well as treating us to an occasional post, so kudos to him.
OK, that is all folks. Time to stretch a bit and head off to work. The weekend is looking sunny and warm, and with a v-day tommorow, I hope to have a big ride to write about, as well as a favorable Hoosatonic report. My rant on rattling Ultegra STI levers will have to wait for another day, but if you have a fix, let me know. FWIW, these are the new 10 speed, and it is the entire lever for the front brake/shifter that does not stay fully retracted. This is apparently a different problem from the rattling end caps on the Ultegra brifters from a a few years back. WTF? Thanks for reading.
Michele's blog has a link to results from the NEBC TT from last week. There are a lot of very fast times posted there, and from people I've never heard of. Damn, am I old or what? This led me to dig through the archives for my times. Turns out they've shortened the course since the last time I did this in 93. Still though, over 27 mph (44 kph) is hauling for that distance.
I need to get out to do a TT. The Cronoman and I have been debating the pros and cons of entering Fitchburg. I would like to do the TT stage, but the rest of the race is not good for me, and the price/travel/commitment will probably scare me off. There is no 45+ race, so we would need to do the 35+. Zoo entered the Cat 4 field months ago, but now sickness, work, and what looks to me like a lack of fortitude have left his preparations leaving a bit to be desired. He made the mistake of posting a request for advice on the Team BOB mailing list. KL told him "get your money back while you still can." And you thought I was a hardass...
With five weeks left to the WMSR, I am trying to figure out how to schedule my training. My prime focus is the TT, and some of my other favorite races, Monson and Bow, come in the weeks following. The June totals are going to look pretty low, but I'll wait and see how the next weeks go before tallying them up. I need a good build, but timing the taper just right will be a little tricky.
The US Navy has a cool web applet to create a chart of sunrise/sunset times for various locations. Even though the longest daylight comes on June 21, the latest sunsets still hold on for several days after that, but the sunrises get later in the morning. Basically, the days do not shorten/lengthen in symmetry. According to their charts, up north where KL resides, the sunrise is only four minutes earlier than down here in Boston. So far this year I've only had a few "late summer night" rides, so I hope to do some more soon, as this is one of my favorites parts about cycling.
Ge-Willi, (apparently being bound and gagged in marital bliss, perhaps Free-Willi would be more appopriate) has some snip on his blog about me being full of excuses. Excuses for what? Not riding to work, yeah maybe, but I don't recall publishing them. ??? Zoo has started updating again too, but he still has his April 17 training plan up there. How about showing us what you actually did, not just what happened right before the alarm went off? Matt's Daily Blog has been anything but lately. Perhaps his fingers are so blistered from gluing tires that he can no longer type. Feltslave has been both upping his game on the bike, as well as treating us to an occasional post, so kudos to him.
OK, that is all folks. Time to stretch a bit and head off to work. The weekend is looking sunny and warm, and with a v-day tommorow, I hope to have a big ride to write about, as well as a favorable Hoosatonic report. My rant on rattling Ultegra STI levers will have to wait for another day, but if you have a fix, let me know. FWIW, these are the new 10 speed, and it is the entire lever for the front brake/shifter that does not stay fully retracted. This is apparently a different problem from the rattling end caps on the Ultegra brifters from a a few years back. WTF? Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Half the man I used to be
Well, maybe not half. By mass, the number would be more like 82% of peak. However, that isn't what I'm referring to here. Sadly, the ability to put the hurt on the rest of the peloton, or more specifically the inability to do it, makes up the topic of today's discussion.
Last night I went to Wompatuck. After getting tied up at work (well, not physically), and fighting traffic for an hour, I wasn't on the bike until 6:20 and missed the first two laps. No big deal, and even though the field was not exactly bunched up when I jumped in, warming up was not too bad. The field was not circulating much at all. After a few laps I felt like I should be doing more than just sitting in, but I wisely reconsidered, because with my late arrival I had still only been on the bike for about fifteen minutes at that point. So I continued to just follow wheels.
There were a lot of riders commenting about how fast the pace was. Wompatuck is normally fast, but because of the woods lining the course on both sides (all the way around) there is rarely detectable wind, so speeds which might be brutal on a "normal" crit are much easier to sustain here, especially if you are not up front. My new bike does not have cadence nor speed sensors yet, so I have no concrete measurements, other than knowing the course in 2.15K around. Yet I did find myself in the 14 cog a lot, or else I would have difficulty maintaining a smooth spin.
There was a time when I would ride Wompatuck one or two cogs less (more teeth, smaller gear, just to be clear) than everyone else. My silky spin allowed me to easily move back and forth in the bunch, never getting gapped, always ready to accelerate. Last night, just the opposite seemed to be the case. This may be a trend for me this year. Having worked to improve my strength and lactic tolerance on long, grinding climbs at low cadence, my speed spin seems to have lost its luster. I am going to have to put the sensors on the bike to see if what I am perceiving is real.
With 11 laps to go, I skillfully crowd surfed my way to the front without taking any wind. In the 13 I powered off to see what I could do. Back in my prime, my intervals off the front at Womp would always be two or three laps, with rarely more than one or two riders able to follow. Last night, I never got a gap. Someone was on my wheel the entire 2:17 of my interval, not even a full lap before an attack went by and I sat up. My average HR for the effort was 175, but I was able to recover fairly quickly, so that is one positive straw to grasp.
With four laps to go, this time I jumped and attacked hard. I got a small gap, but nothing seemed to be getting away all night. I held on only a minute before getting swarmed by a counterattack. Damn. This was discouraging. I know it should not be, as even though we never went single file all night, we never slowed down, and they chased everything, as has been the case all year. Nobody is getting significantly up the road, even for a short time. I sat out the sprint, and I guess the night's average turned out to be over 43 kph.
This morning I went out for an easy hour, and I was not only tired, but downright sleepy. Time to get to work now, I least I am home, but I need to go in to the office for a meeting later. No worries, as that will be on the way to my much needed massage appointment. Tommorow will be easy in the am too, then the Brockton Rox game tommorow night. Friday is off from work, so maybe a nice long ride. Hoosatonic Hills looms on Sunday, and it is supposed to be a hot one. I'll find out if the work I have done on my climbing has been enough! Thanks for reading.
Last night I went to Wompatuck. After getting tied up at work (well, not physically), and fighting traffic for an hour, I wasn't on the bike until 6:20 and missed the first two laps. No big deal, and even though the field was not exactly bunched up when I jumped in, warming up was not too bad. The field was not circulating much at all. After a few laps I felt like I should be doing more than just sitting in, but I wisely reconsidered, because with my late arrival I had still only been on the bike for about fifteen minutes at that point. So I continued to just follow wheels.
There were a lot of riders commenting about how fast the pace was. Wompatuck is normally fast, but because of the woods lining the course on both sides (all the way around) there is rarely detectable wind, so speeds which might be brutal on a "normal" crit are much easier to sustain here, especially if you are not up front. My new bike does not have cadence nor speed sensors yet, so I have no concrete measurements, other than knowing the course in 2.15K around. Yet I did find myself in the 14 cog a lot, or else I would have difficulty maintaining a smooth spin.
There was a time when I would ride Wompatuck one or two cogs less (more teeth, smaller gear, just to be clear) than everyone else. My silky spin allowed me to easily move back and forth in the bunch, never getting gapped, always ready to accelerate. Last night, just the opposite seemed to be the case. This may be a trend for me this year. Having worked to improve my strength and lactic tolerance on long, grinding climbs at low cadence, my speed spin seems to have lost its luster. I am going to have to put the sensors on the bike to see if what I am perceiving is real.
With 11 laps to go, I skillfully crowd surfed my way to the front without taking any wind. In the 13 I powered off to see what I could do. Back in my prime, my intervals off the front at Womp would always be two or three laps, with rarely more than one or two riders able to follow. Last night, I never got a gap. Someone was on my wheel the entire 2:17 of my interval, not even a full lap before an attack went by and I sat up. My average HR for the effort was 175, but I was able to recover fairly quickly, so that is one positive straw to grasp.
With four laps to go, this time I jumped and attacked hard. I got a small gap, but nothing seemed to be getting away all night. I held on only a minute before getting swarmed by a counterattack. Damn. This was discouraging. I know it should not be, as even though we never went single file all night, we never slowed down, and they chased everything, as has been the case all year. Nobody is getting significantly up the road, even for a short time. I sat out the sprint, and I guess the night's average turned out to be over 43 kph.
This morning I went out for an easy hour, and I was not only tired, but downright sleepy. Time to get to work now, I least I am home, but I need to go in to the office for a meeting later. No worries, as that will be on the way to my much needed massage appointment. Tommorow will be easy in the am too, then the Brockton Rox game tommorow night. Friday is off from work, so maybe a nice long ride. Hoosatonic Hills looms on Sunday, and it is supposed to be a hot one. I'll find out if the work I have done on my climbing has been enough! Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Sunrise in the morning, stay a while
Here is a newsflash for you: Blogger works pretty well at 6 am. Since I'm here on the right coast, I guess that means once you all get to "work" and start asking their servers to start serving, all those glitches we know yet don't love so much start glitching. If this weren't Wompatuck night, I would be out for a run or a spin too, rather than wasting valuable summer morning time blogging. As it is, I think I'll wrap this up quickly, pack up my stuff and head to work so that I can get out early and head down for a good pre-race warm up.
Last night, the joy of summer made it possible for me to get in an almost two hour ride, even though I didn't head out until 7 pm. JG met me out on the road, and despite his training having been on the back burner all year, he still kept inching ahead (half wheel hell), pushing the pace up as we rode side by side. His pedal stroke remains smooth and powerful. He may have been sucking wind here and there, but those powerful sprinter's legs will still pack punch once he gets the energy systems back up to snuff. I finished up pretty much in the dark, but it felt great to do the longer after work ride that used to be so much a part of summer life. Enjoy it while we can.
Reading other people's blogs has been fun lately, even though athletic types are naturally updating on a much more sporadic basis now that we are in season. Most of the bloggers that I follow seem to have been pursuing cycling for just a few years. Compared with running and swimming, cycling is unnatural. Bikes weren't invented until just over a century ago. We take them for granted, but this was an ingenious invention. Once they moved past high-wheelers and onto "safety" bicycles, the fundamental design stayed exactly the same. Pretty impressive. In all of human existence, nobody ever did anything like pedal a bicycle before. Yet this very simple machine proved to be something we could adapt to. Yes, they have been refined, but the basics of the machine have needed no changes whatsoever since the days of Major Taylor.
What does this have to do with blogging? Reading the blogs of relative "beginners" I am constantly reminded of how ones maturation as a cyclist takes place. Sure, anyone can ride a bike, and the bike's position as a kid's toy is one of the main things holding cycling back from being taken seriously as a sport and a form of adult transportation. Yet of the tens of millions of people who learn to ride a bike, just a handful of us ever become truly proficient at it. Reading the blogs, I am reminded of how good it felt to finally start to realize the potential of these simple, yet marvelous machines.
The old school racers used to say it takes five to seven years to develop as a cyclist. Those years of work are worth it. Compared to a general population who "know how to ride a bike," even a recreational riders puts in more mileage every year than most do in a lifetime. The real payoff comes when you take it further and further. Since most people you run into out on the road have barely adapted past caveman status, it is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have learned all there is to learn, and that you are "good at this." Don't believe it. Racers get painted as snobs, but competition exposes our weaknesses like nothing else, and forces us to push past the comfort zone and continue further on our path of adaptation to mastering this unnatural machine. Stay with it, and learn the things that cannot be taught. The rewards are immense. As great as it is to read someones revelations about how their riding suddenly seemed to move up to a new level, that is nothing compared to experiencing it yourself. Thanks for reading.
Last night, the joy of summer made it possible for me to get in an almost two hour ride, even though I didn't head out until 7 pm. JG met me out on the road, and despite his training having been on the back burner all year, he still kept inching ahead (half wheel hell), pushing the pace up as we rode side by side. His pedal stroke remains smooth and powerful. He may have been sucking wind here and there, but those powerful sprinter's legs will still pack punch once he gets the energy systems back up to snuff. I finished up pretty much in the dark, but it felt great to do the longer after work ride that used to be so much a part of summer life. Enjoy it while we can.
Reading other people's blogs has been fun lately, even though athletic types are naturally updating on a much more sporadic basis now that we are in season. Most of the bloggers that I follow seem to have been pursuing cycling for just a few years. Compared with running and swimming, cycling is unnatural. Bikes weren't invented until just over a century ago. We take them for granted, but this was an ingenious invention. Once they moved past high-wheelers and onto "safety" bicycles, the fundamental design stayed exactly the same. Pretty impressive. In all of human existence, nobody ever did anything like pedal a bicycle before. Yet this very simple machine proved to be something we could adapt to. Yes, they have been refined, but the basics of the machine have needed no changes whatsoever since the days of Major Taylor.
What does this have to do with blogging? Reading the blogs of relative "beginners" I am constantly reminded of how ones maturation as a cyclist takes place. Sure, anyone can ride a bike, and the bike's position as a kid's toy is one of the main things holding cycling back from being taken seriously as a sport and a form of adult transportation. Yet of the tens of millions of people who learn to ride a bike, just a handful of us ever become truly proficient at it. Reading the blogs, I am reminded of how good it felt to finally start to realize the potential of these simple, yet marvelous machines.
The old school racers used to say it takes five to seven years to develop as a cyclist. Those years of work are worth it. Compared to a general population who "know how to ride a bike," even a recreational riders puts in more mileage every year than most do in a lifetime. The real payoff comes when you take it further and further. Since most people you run into out on the road have barely adapted past caveman status, it is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have learned all there is to learn, and that you are "good at this." Don't believe it. Racers get painted as snobs, but competition exposes our weaknesses like nothing else, and forces us to push past the comfort zone and continue further on our path of adaptation to mastering this unnatural machine. Stay with it, and learn the things that cannot be taught. The rewards are immense. As great as it is to read someones revelations about how their riding suddenly seemed to move up to a new level, that is nothing compared to experiencing it yourself. Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Born to be Wild
Realizing that the last several posts have been devoid of humor, and in homage to Bike Week I'm posting this 8 meg video for your amusement. If you thought you had to go to Laconia to take in all the two-wheeled motor mayhem this week, and that buzzing by cyclists just inches from their handlebars was the only way to have motorcycle fun, think again. The real party takes place in Nashua. Solobreak proves that you don't need a huge, noisy Harley and a microscopic, impotent penis to get in the spirit of Motorcycle Week. Get the video
Sunday, June 11, 2006
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
And on Sunday morning we got to go for a ride. Not the picture perfect June day, a bit cool, but after the crap that has passed for weather so far this month, today was special. Too bad I didn't feel that way. Yesterday's run must have really kicked my ass or something, because today, as Duano would say, I had nuttin'.
KL rode her TT bike, so she got to do all the pulling. We rode out of Nashua, just the two of us, and tried to avoid the hills. We looped around Hollis, Amherst, and Merrimac, staying out for 2.5 hours and about 75K. It felt like 4 hours and 120K to me. You would think after such a light week, the body would be fresh and ready to go, but I think I could have really passed for 64 today.
This week we have to decide if we are going to the 40K TT in New York. The drive really is obnoxious. I can't believe we don't have 40K in New England this year. Colebrook seemed pretty successful the past few years, with at least a few hundred riders. We are surely going to Hoosatonic Hills on Sunday. I have never done it before, and there is an all star field signed up for the 45+, so that should be tough. That is one more reason to skip the TT. This race doesn't sound like one I want to have that "not so fresh" feeling at.
Back to the grind at work tommorow. Super-Sammy returns from his Romanian adventure, so at least I'll have some tales to listen to, and he'll be there to help me and Jeremiah fend off the angry mobs. This is Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire too, and since the New Hampton Training Center is practically right in the middle of it all, we can look forward to some angry ranting from KL. Thanks for reading.
KL rode her TT bike, so she got to do all the pulling. We rode out of Nashua, just the two of us, and tried to avoid the hills. We looped around Hollis, Amherst, and Merrimac, staying out for 2.5 hours and about 75K. It felt like 4 hours and 120K to me. You would think after such a light week, the body would be fresh and ready to go, but I think I could have really passed for 64 today.
This week we have to decide if we are going to the 40K TT in New York. The drive really is obnoxious. I can't believe we don't have 40K in New England this year. Colebrook seemed pretty successful the past few years, with at least a few hundred riders. We are surely going to Hoosatonic Hills on Sunday. I have never done it before, and there is an all star field signed up for the 45+, so that should be tough. That is one more reason to skip the TT. This race doesn't sound like one I want to have that "not so fresh" feeling at.
Back to the grind at work tommorow. Super-Sammy returns from his Romanian adventure, so at least I'll have some tales to listen to, and he'll be there to help me and Jeremiah fend off the angry mobs. This is Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire too, and since the New Hampton Training Center is practically right in the middle of it all, we can look forward to some angry ranting from KL. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
I can tell you taste like the sky cause you look like rain
Another wet June weekend, and I have no (bike) racing planned. Each "off" weekend this season has been a soaker, preventing me from getting out for any long mileage. Well, not preventing me, as I guess I could go, but if I'm not going to enjoy it, I'd rather miss the training.
With this already being a down week, I was really counting on getting something decent in today. Waking up late to steady rain, I put plan B into action. There was a small time 5K two towns over in Walpole. It was slated to start at 9, and I didn't get up until 7:15, leaving the house at 8:15. The rain picked up on the drive over, but I made every single light, and took this as a sign. I found the race, registered, and lined up with no stretching or warmup. There were only about 90 runners, mostly locals and some high school kids. I had no idea what the course was.
At the siren, I just buried myself, and figured a PR was supposed to hurt. The first mile passed in 5:53, and I was in the top ten, duking it out with a 15 year old. The second mile wound around a residential side street, and the 2 mile split was 12:03, so I lost a bit. At the start I heard mention of a hill, and there was a small rise at the 2 mark, but in the last mile was what they were really talking about. It was just a short rise, only something like 15 meters elevation, but I felt it, so now I know what Bolder was talking about in the Boulder 10K. I guess even 6 feet of elevation gain would slow you down if it were in the form of a retaining wall. I pegged my HR at 180 at this point, which I think is the highest I've seen all year.
The last 3/4 mile was all downhill. Sounds easy, but my lack of warmup/stretching caught up to me and the front of both quads started cramping. Two guys passed me and I could tell that one of them was probably over 40. I totally faded at the end and lost my chance at breaking 19, limping into the finish at 19:11, 9th overall and 3rd in my age group. My first running trophy. Well, I think there were about 30 trophies for the 90 runners, but hey, I never thought I'd see the day when I broke 7:30 miles, never mind run 6:11s. I don't think the distance certified, but I will count this as a PR, considering the rain, puddles, and hill and the fact that if anything, it seemed like the course might be long.
The sky is brighter now, so I am still hoping to salvage the weekend. Hope those of you in parts elsewhere are having a great one. It has to turn here soon. Not sure about Philly. Thanks for reading.
With this already being a down week, I was really counting on getting something decent in today. Waking up late to steady rain, I put plan B into action. There was a small time 5K two towns over in Walpole. It was slated to start at 9, and I didn't get up until 7:15, leaving the house at 8:15. The rain picked up on the drive over, but I made every single light, and took this as a sign. I found the race, registered, and lined up with no stretching or warmup. There were only about 90 runners, mostly locals and some high school kids. I had no idea what the course was.
At the siren, I just buried myself, and figured a PR was supposed to hurt. The first mile passed in 5:53, and I was in the top ten, duking it out with a 15 year old. The second mile wound around a residential side street, and the 2 mile split was 12:03, so I lost a bit. At the start I heard mention of a hill, and there was a small rise at the 2 mark, but in the last mile was what they were really talking about. It was just a short rise, only something like 15 meters elevation, but I felt it, so now I know what Bolder was talking about in the Boulder 10K. I guess even 6 feet of elevation gain would slow you down if it were in the form of a retaining wall. I pegged my HR at 180 at this point, which I think is the highest I've seen all year.
The last 3/4 mile was all downhill. Sounds easy, but my lack of warmup/stretching caught up to me and the front of both quads started cramping. Two guys passed me and I could tell that one of them was probably over 40. I totally faded at the end and lost my chance at breaking 19, limping into the finish at 19:11, 9th overall and 3rd in my age group. My first running trophy. Well, I think there were about 30 trophies for the 90 runners, but hey, I never thought I'd see the day when I broke 7:30 miles, never mind run 6:11s. I don't think the distance certified, but I will count this as a PR, considering the rain, puddles, and hill and the fact that if anything, it seemed like the course might be long.
The sky is brighter now, so I am still hoping to salvage the weekend. Hope those of you in parts elsewhere are having a great one. It has to turn here soon. Not sure about Philly. Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 9, 2006
How can you laugh, when you know I'm down?
The tooth extraction did not turn out to be so bad. Once the novacaine set in, it took Dr. Fitz all of two minutes to have that bad boy out in one piece. That comes to about $6000/hour, which explains the Carrera 4 out front. After I got home, the monsoon briefly letup and the road started to show dry patches, but seeing as I was pumped up with pain meds, and still bleeding a bit, I decided that three days in a row without a workout would not be so bad. This little mini-break should leave me with recharged batteries, allowing me to do a good schedule the next several weeks into the mid-summer races.
This morning I overslept again. In contrast to last month, when five hours of sleep was a big deal, the past two weeks I have been getting seven hours or more of quality Z's each night. Last month I had just not adapted to the in season training load. You can be overtrained on six hours a week if your body isn't used to it. My weight has crept up quite a bit (at least a kilo), so I have to knuckle down and refocus the rest of this month. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
The other bloggers have been on a roll lately. Too bad that I am too busy to enjoy it. I got a comment from Bolder on Wednesday, so I guess I've hit the big time! Bolder and Kahuna are two of my favorites, even though I am not a triathlete. These two guys have widely read blogs that incorporate the essential mix of humor and serious fitness that (on a good day) I strive for here. They are in roughly the same age bracket as me too, so maybe that is why I can relate. I think we were all funnier in the winter though. Not sure why that is. The fatigue of training actually stimulates the brain's humor mechanism, but maybe it never makes it to the keyboard. Some of the funniest shit I can remember was hanging out with the team at the Little Buckhorn Lodge in Killington after the hard stages in the old KSR. Everyone would be wasted and licking their wounds (the ones we could reach), and then just start ripping on each other and everyone else who might have been in or around the race. Great times.
All right, none of this makes sense to anyone but me and about three more of you. Consider it a challenge to put something laughable up this week. Ge-Willi, any chance of getting a hall pass to get out for a ride this weekend? You might have to drive for it, but I think it is time we met the man behind the monitor. We might even be able to hook up with Feltslave (free yogurt!), and Zoo (not sure if he is even talking to me anymore) if you're willing to drive to Nausea in Cow Hampshire on Sunday. Of course we'll have to chase KL up all the hills. You might want more than that 50x23. Thanks for reading! Let's hope Markie Mark does it again in Philly!
This morning I overslept again. In contrast to last month, when five hours of sleep was a big deal, the past two weeks I have been getting seven hours or more of quality Z's each night. Last month I had just not adapted to the in season training load. You can be overtrained on six hours a week if your body isn't used to it. My weight has crept up quite a bit (at least a kilo), so I have to knuckle down and refocus the rest of this month. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
The other bloggers have been on a roll lately. Too bad that I am too busy to enjoy it. I got a comment from Bolder on Wednesday, so I guess I've hit the big time! Bolder and Kahuna are two of my favorites, even though I am not a triathlete. These two guys have widely read blogs that incorporate the essential mix of humor and serious fitness that (on a good day) I strive for here. They are in roughly the same age bracket as me too, so maybe that is why I can relate. I think we were all funnier in the winter though. Not sure why that is. The fatigue of training actually stimulates the brain's humor mechanism, but maybe it never makes it to the keyboard. Some of the funniest shit I can remember was hanging out with the team at the Little Buckhorn Lodge in Killington after the hard stages in the old KSR. Everyone would be wasted and licking their wounds (the ones we could reach), and then just start ripping on each other and everyone else who might have been in or around the race. Great times.
All right, none of this makes sense to anyone but me and about three more of you. Consider it a challenge to put something laughable up this week. Ge-Willi, any chance of getting a hall pass to get out for a ride this weekend? You might have to drive for it, but I think it is time we met the man behind the monitor. We might even be able to hook up with Feltslave (free yogurt!), and Zoo (not sure if he is even talking to me anymore) if you're willing to drive to Nausea in Cow Hampshire on Sunday. Of course we'll have to chase KL up all the hills. You might want more than that 50x23. Thanks for reading! Let's hope Markie Mark does it again in Philly!
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
I Can't Do My Homework, Anymore
All six of my fans must be pretty upset by the lack of new content the past few days. Sorry mates, the road of life has been filled with traffic. Even my blog reading has suffered, and even when I have had a chance to skim, and try to make up for my own lack of creativity by commenting on others, Blogger has let me down. Well, the price is right anyway. It looks to me like comments pages sort of half-update. The comment might be on the enter/edit page, but not on the permalink, and the comment counts on the main pages don't update. So don't be discouraged, I am still here perusing your prose.
More rain on our primest of the prime daylight days. Saturday was no ride at all, but I went out for an hour run with hills. Yeah, I know, I am supposed to stop running for the summer, but something seems to have happened to me this past winter. I actually miss running after a few days of not doing it. Hmmmm. Sunday we got out for a ride, started out OK, but then we hit some patches of moderate rain, ending up pretty wet and filthy. Just 2.5 hours, but got in some good climbing. We spent the afternoon helping two friends who had braved the Mooseman half Ironman tri just down the road get thawed out and clean up their bikes.
Monday was another "white day," as in no training, as well as the official 45th anniversary of my touchdown onto this planet. I am used to the idea already, as the USCF changes our racing age on the first of the year, and for 'cross, even earlier than that. So I have considered myself "45" for quite a while now anyway. Yesterday was a rough day at the office. Major issue that I was a party to, so yours truly was seriously under the gun the entire day and into the evening. Looks like I haven't heard the last of it either. So no Womp last night. The good news is that with the late, late sunset, even my 7 pm departure from the smoked glass and granite cube farm didn't prevent me from getting out on the bike for a bit over an hour. I headed over to Big Blue and did six repeats, tieing for my most consecutive ascents. I even warmed up on the hill, as traffic around there really blows these days. No speed records, but I tried a few different things, with the last three efforts comprised of little bursts and sprints mixed with low gear "recovery" (as much as you can on a 9% grade), rather than a steady effort the entire way.
The times ended up being 7:27 (warmup in 38x27), 6:25, 6:33, 5:42, 5:48, 5:45, all well off record pace. But this was a workout, and I think it was a good session. One "all out" effort on this climb usually leads to "shaky legs" and any repeats after that are useless. On the last efforts, I was trying pretty hard, but I guess even three "easy" repeats take a bit out of you. The total of 750 meters of climbing in 39 minutes works out to a VAM of 1154m/hour, so I'll take it.
More rain today, and work is looking bad. Despite this being the telecommuting day, I may go in to the office to share the misery. Tooth being pulled tommorow, which may cut into the training even further. Not sure how I missed the fact that the Cambridge NY Balloon Festival Road Race this weekend is basically another Battenkill-Roubaix, but it is too late to go to that. Next year. You can look forward to some Vicodin-fueld posts the next few days. Thanks for reading.
More rain on our primest of the prime daylight days. Saturday was no ride at all, but I went out for an hour run with hills. Yeah, I know, I am supposed to stop running for the summer, but something seems to have happened to me this past winter. I actually miss running after a few days of not doing it. Hmmmm. Sunday we got out for a ride, started out OK, but then we hit some patches of moderate rain, ending up pretty wet and filthy. Just 2.5 hours, but got in some good climbing. We spent the afternoon helping two friends who had braved the Mooseman half Ironman tri just down the road get thawed out and clean up their bikes.
Monday was another "white day," as in no training, as well as the official 45th anniversary of my touchdown onto this planet. I am used to the idea already, as the USCF changes our racing age on the first of the year, and for 'cross, even earlier than that. So I have considered myself "45" for quite a while now anyway. Yesterday was a rough day at the office. Major issue that I was a party to, so yours truly was seriously under the gun the entire day and into the evening. Looks like I haven't heard the last of it either. So no Womp last night. The good news is that with the late, late sunset, even my 7 pm departure from the smoked glass and granite cube farm didn't prevent me from getting out on the bike for a bit over an hour. I headed over to Big Blue and did six repeats, tieing for my most consecutive ascents. I even warmed up on the hill, as traffic around there really blows these days. No speed records, but I tried a few different things, with the last three efforts comprised of little bursts and sprints mixed with low gear "recovery" (as much as you can on a 9% grade), rather than a steady effort the entire way.
The times ended up being 7:27 (warmup in 38x27), 6:25, 6:33, 5:42, 5:48, 5:45, all well off record pace. But this was a workout, and I think it was a good session. One "all out" effort on this climb usually leads to "shaky legs" and any repeats after that are useless. On the last efforts, I was trying pretty hard, but I guess even three "easy" repeats take a bit out of you. The total of 750 meters of climbing in 39 minutes works out to a VAM of 1154m/hour, so I'll take it.
More rain today, and work is looking bad. Despite this being the telecommuting day, I may go in to the office to share the misery. Tooth being pulled tommorow, which may cut into the training even further. Not sure how I missed the fact that the Cambridge NY Balloon Festival Road Race this weekend is basically another Battenkill-Roubaix, but it is too late to go to that. Next year. You can look forward to some Vicodin-fueld posts the next few days. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Try just a little bit harder
The sprint for 3rd at Sunapee. As we know, I didn't get it... Photo courtesy of Matthew McNeely, Boston Bit Company
Saturday, June 3, 2006
You sure look good dancin' in the mud
The day has dawned quite rainy over the New Hampton training center. Like last year, these daylight rich days of June are having a rainy pall cast over them. Hopefully this will break. There is a big triathlon weekend just a few miles down the road at Newfound Lake in Bristol. I guess this was already in jeopardy due to the recent flooding and issues with the structural integrity of one of the dams over there, but in the end it is game on. They are having an Olympic distance tri today, and a half-Ironman tommorow. KL has some friends up for tommorow's race, as they are preparing for an Ironman in Germany later this year. We'll see them for dinner tonight, so hopefully we will be able to get out for a healthy ride today. In a little while I think that I will break down and do a longish (for me) run just to make sure I burn up a few calories.
Don't let June pass you by. Sure, this month marks the beginning of the traditional summer, but it also marks the end of the lengthening of the daylight. You may have dragged your ass with training up until this point. Further procrastination will mean that you totally blew the year off. Like life, this is not a dress rehersal. Now is the time to get out there and make the most of each and every training day. October and its 4:30 pm sunsets will be here soon enough; you can put off all that mundane shit that sucks up your time until then. Do it in the dark. The whole reason for going out in the cold for long rides in the spring is to be ready to go out and do really long rides now!
Racing complicates the issue. Luckily for me, I don't have too many races scheduled this month. Let's recap the season so far (since I don't have this on the sidebar like everybody else).
One of these days I might get around to compiling a list of last year's competitions. I had a few runs, some road races, and a bunch of 'cross races in there. You can always keep tabs on the majority of the USCF stuff by checking up on me here.
So what is up for the rest of the year? Right now it looks like the NY State TT on June 17. We don't have a 40K TT in New England this year, but the New York race looks like a good course. I am probably going to ride this Cannibal (no aero equipment) because the next day we are going to the Hoosatonic Road Race in CT. There just won't be room for an extra bike on this road trip. Last year I rode Colebrook as a cannibal and it was a dissappointing 1:02:38 on the tough Colebrook course. This year I will once again hope to go under the hour.
After Hoosatonic I have nothing planned until the Workingman's Stage Race. I am going to skip Fitchburg. They don't have a 45+ category, and the logistics of racing there (time off, etc) make it too tough, so I will be supporting KL that weekend. After WMSR, Owasco is a possibility, then Monson, and then my favorite race, Bow. Toward the end of August I will do the Mt A TT, as there is a team competition this year, so this will put added pressure on my mates. I'm still not so sure about doing the Green Mountain Stage race again, but if I can get the time off, I think that I probably will. Then we'll end the road season with Haverhill (another BOB race, and Ge-W, we'd better see you there), and the Bob Beal Master's stage race omnium. 'Cross? Maybe. Probably be a fair-weather 'crosser, racing Pittsfield, Canton, Gloucester and Farmington, but then going into hybernation when the weather turns foul.
That wraps it up kids. Sorry that there is nothing entertaining or insightful today. Still gloomy out there, so I guess it is time to pull on the Hurricanes and see if I can run an hour on the local hills without falling onto the roadside in the fetal position. Thanks for reading!
Don't let June pass you by. Sure, this month marks the beginning of the traditional summer, but it also marks the end of the lengthening of the daylight. You may have dragged your ass with training up until this point. Further procrastination will mean that you totally blew the year off. Like life, this is not a dress rehersal. Now is the time to get out there and make the most of each and every training day. October and its 4:30 pm sunsets will be here soon enough; you can put off all that mundane shit that sucks up your time until then. Do it in the dark. The whole reason for going out in the cold for long rides in the spring is to be ready to go out and do really long rides now!
Racing complicates the issue. Luckily for me, I don't have too many races scheduled this month. Let's recap the season so far (since I don't have this on the sidebar like everybody else).
- Foxboro 5K - 20:19
- Paddy Kelly Brockton 5 miler - 31:30
- Cohasset 10K by the Sea - 40:26
- Battenkill-Roubaix - 90K road race with dirt roads and lots of hills, 35th, OTB.
- Turtle Pond - 90K road race on a circuit with a small hill, 10th.
- Perinton Circuit Race - seven laps of a hilly 10K circuit, 5th, small field
- Palmer Road Race - 90K road race, good attack at end but caught, 61st.
- Jiminy Peak - 3 laps of a 30k circuit with a hill, 17th, 14 riders were away.
- Hollenbeck Spring Classic - 80K hilly road race, 19th, small field
- Lake Sunapee Road Race - Two 37K laps around the lake, classic race, 4th in a strong field of NE masters.
- Rye By The Sea Duathlon - 5k/27k/5k - 13th overall, good ride on the bike. 1:26:50
One of these days I might get around to compiling a list of last year's competitions. I had a few runs, some road races, and a bunch of 'cross races in there. You can always keep tabs on the majority of the USCF stuff by checking up on me here.
So what is up for the rest of the year? Right now it looks like the NY State TT on June 17. We don't have a 40K TT in New England this year, but the New York race looks like a good course. I am probably going to ride this Cannibal (no aero equipment) because the next day we are going to the Hoosatonic Road Race in CT. There just won't be room for an extra bike on this road trip. Last year I rode Colebrook as a cannibal and it was a dissappointing 1:02:38 on the tough Colebrook course. This year I will once again hope to go under the hour.
After Hoosatonic I have nothing planned until the Workingman's Stage Race. I am going to skip Fitchburg. They don't have a 45+ category, and the logistics of racing there (time off, etc) make it too tough, so I will be supporting KL that weekend. After WMSR, Owasco is a possibility, then Monson, and then my favorite race, Bow. Toward the end of August I will do the Mt A TT, as there is a team competition this year, so this will put added pressure on my mates. I'm still not so sure about doing the Green Mountain Stage race again, but if I can get the time off, I think that I probably will. Then we'll end the road season with Haverhill (another BOB race, and Ge-W, we'd better see you there), and the Bob Beal Master's stage race omnium. 'Cross? Maybe. Probably be a fair-weather 'crosser, racing Pittsfield, Canton, Gloucester and Farmington, but then going into hybernation when the weather turns foul.
That wraps it up kids. Sorry that there is nothing entertaining or insightful today. Still gloomy out there, so I guess it is time to pull on the Hurricanes and see if I can run an hour on the local hills without falling onto the roadside in the fetal position. Thanks for reading!
Friday, June 2, 2006
Dancin' Barefoot
Booked it out of work yesterday to try and get over to Blue Hills for a short hard ride with some repeats on the big hill. A rest day would have been fine, but with heavy rains forecast, I figured no rain, go train. Thunderstorms were looming on the horizon, but it looked like I should be able to squeak in an hour or so. I changed into my shorts before leaving work, and raced over to the museum parking lot. The air was already thick with humidity as I prepped my bike. F*&%$#! No shoes. Ugggghhh!
What a waste of time. Got in the car and headed home, which was also the same direction the dark clouds were coming from. When I got there, the house was warm and muggy inside, but outdoors was the awesome cool, electric air that comes through right before the storm. With thunder rumbling in the distance, I sprinted out for a few laps around a nearby neighborhood. Well, even with my rose-colored lenses, the sky was not inviting and within seconds it was dark. I got in a whopping 12 minutes before the rain started. Oh well. It was so dark it was dangerous anyway, so I headed in and finished up with a spin on the trainer. Don't forget your shoes!
What a waste of time. Got in the car and headed home, which was also the same direction the dark clouds were coming from. When I got there, the house was warm and muggy inside, but outdoors was the awesome cool, electric air that comes through right before the storm. With thunder rumbling in the distance, I sprinted out for a few laps around a nearby neighborhood. Well, even with my rose-colored lenses, the sky was not inviting and within seconds it was dark. I got in a whopping 12 minutes before the rain started. Oh well. It was so dark it was dangerous anyway, so I headed in and finished up with a spin on the trainer. Don't forget your shoes!
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